The debate over where Michael Jordan, LeBron James, and Kobe Bryant rank among the NBA’s all-time greats has gone on for more than a decade, and Jordan himself has answered questions about it along the way.

Iman Shumpert, who played alongside James on the Cleveland Cavaliers, waded into that argument as a guest on “The Lou Young Show with TreyDay.” The 2016 NBA champion put Jordan and James on one side and Bryant on the other, for a reason that came down to what each man could do physically.

Iman Shumpert Details Why Kobe Bryant Is Different From LeBron James, Michael Jordan in GOAT Debate

The episode, hosted by comedian Lou Young, was billed as a conversation about fatherhood and Shumpert’s life after the NBA. The GOAT question still came up, and Shumpert started by pushing back on how James gets judged against Jordan before turning to Bryant.

“I can’t continue to move this goalpost on LeBron. It’s just not his fault he was born later,” Shumpert said before pushing the point further. “There’s nothing from the ’60s to the 2000s to now that can deal with Bron.”

Their draft years offer some context for the generational comparison. James went No. 1 overall in 2003, 19 years after Jordan was picked third in 1984 and seven years after Bryant was taken 13th in 1996.

Bryant is where Shumpert’s argument turned, starting with the defenders who guarded the five-time champion.

“We’ve seen plenty of people deal with Kobe. Kobe was just insane. I’m saying Kobe didn’t do what Mike and Bron do to you athletically because he mimicked Michael Jordan’s game so much,” Shumpert said.

The difference, as Shumpert described it, showed up in how Bryant’s possessions played out: “Kobe wasn’t coming down, picking up the ball, palming it, and just having a physical and athletic advantage over you every time.”

He then turned back to Jordan and James: “I’m telling you LeBron James and Michael Jordan have relied on athleticism.”

That difference also shaped how Shumpert explained Bryant’s hold on fans: “That’s why people love Kobe. You love Kobe because you could be Kobe. You can’t [expletive] be Mike. … You can’t be Bron. You can’t. You physically can’t. But you can be Kobe.”

Shumpert then walked through what Bryant did instead, laying out the reads the Hall of Famer made from his spots on the floor:

“If I get to this spot and my left shoulder is outside your right shoulder, I’m gonna go. If I get to this spot and my left shoulder is even with that shoulder and that shoulder is tilted back there, I’m pulling up … he drilled it. That’s what made him great. He had the blueprint.”

The trophy cases put Jordan ahead in championships and individual accolades, though the order behind him varies by award. The Chicago Bulls legend won six championships in six trips to the Finals, along with six Finals MVPs and five regular-season MVPs.

Bryant, meanwhile, spent all 20 of his seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers and won five titles, two Finals MVPs, and one regular-season MVP.

James, now playing for the Philadelphia 76ers, owns four championships, four Finals MVPs, and four regular-season MVPs, and he is 4-6 across his 10 trips to the Finals.

Jordan has weighed in on Bryant versus James before. The matchup came up again in 2017 at his Flight School camp in California, and the Bulls icon did not hedge.

“Would I rank LeBron over Kobe in terms of best of all time? No. There’s something about 5 that beats 3. Now he may be better than that, but Kobe won five championships. LeBron won three,” Jordan said.

Though James won a fourth title after those remarks, that still leaves him one behind Bryant.

Bryant’s 20 seasons and Jordan’s 15 are complete, and James, still playing, is chasing a fifth ring in a 76ers jersey. As for the GOAT debate between the three NBA legends, it will take a while for the dust to settle.