Armando Bacot wades into NBA GOAT debate following Michael Jordan story: 'I gotta rock with LeBron James'

One of the more heavily discussed topics in all of sports is who is the greatest player of all-time. And for basketball, it usually comes down to two people: LeBron James or Michael Jordan. And for an extremely long time, it’s one of those topics that’s always popped up. And former UNC star Armando Bacot decided to make a risky, risky move on Wednesday evening, when he waded into the debate. Then, he decided to choose LeBron James, instead of former UNC star Michael Jordan, a pretty surprising stance considering the school Bacot starred for in college.

Here’s the interview below on Overtime.

Former UNC player Armando Bacot said LeBron is the best player of all time 🤣

“I gotta rock with LeBron” pic.twitter.com/rcJXLqnzu5

— Overtime (@overtime) May 29, 2024

It might’ve wound up as his final career game in college, but Armando Bacot made some history in No. 1 seed North Carolina’s Sweet 16 loss to No. 4 seed Alabama. And it puts him in league with an all-time great.

With a 19-point, 12-rebound effort, Bacot recorded his 87th career double-double during his five-year career. That moved him into a tie in first place with former Wake Forest legend Tim Duncan, who held the NCAA record alone until Thursday.

In 37 games this season, Bacot finished with 19 double-doubles.

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And while Bacot does now match Duncan in terms of total career double-doubles, there’s an important distinction: Bacot had an extra year to play in college by virtue of the Covid-19 pandemic. Bacot hit 87 double-doubles in 169 career games, while Duncan did it in 128. That difference manifested in Duncan basically having a double-double in two out of every three games, while was closer to every-other game with a double-double for Bacot.

He’ll now be busy preparing for the 2024 NBA Draft.

Bacot was one of the most productive big men in college basketball history during his time with the ‘Heels. He might have spent five years in Chapel Hill, but he made them count. Coming out of high school, he was one of the most decorated prospects in the nation. Bacot was rated as the No. 19 overall player in the country and a five-star recruit, according to the On3 Industry Rankings. He was also ranked as the No. 2 center prospect in America.

On3’s Andrew Graham also contributed to this article.