Former NBA center Will Perdue spent six seasons as a teammate of Michael Jordan with the Chicago Bulls, winning three straight championships from 1991-93.
The now-59-year-old has spent parts of his post-playing career as a radio broadcaster for ESPN, as well as a Bulls analyst for NBC Sports Chicago, witnessing firsthand the greatness of Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James.
During an interview with Heavy.com on Tuesday, Perdue chimed in on the never-ending NBA “GOAT” debate and explained why, while he sided with MJ, there are lots of factors to consider.
“LeBron is one of the best players of all-time. Period. And longevity doesn’t necessarily make you the best, but I think what he’s been able to do with Cleveland, Miami, the Lakers, is impressive and it’s a worthy debate,” the former Vanderbilt star said. “I’m not just saying, ‘Hey, I think Michael is the greatest of all-time.’ I will admit I’m a little biased, but I’ve also been on the other side of the table.”
Perdue was selected by Chicago with the 11th overall pick during the 1988 NBA Draft after winning SEC Player of the Year honors with the Commodores during his senior season. Perdue then spent his first seven professional campaigns with the Bulls (1988-1995), before suiting up for the San Antonio Spurs for four seasons (1995-99), returning to Chicago for 1999-2000 and wrapping up with 13 contests with the Portland Trail Blazers in 2000-01.
The big man won a fourth NBA title with the Spurs during the 1998-99 season during legendary head coach Gregg Popovich’s third year at the helm and Hall-of-Fame forward Tim Duncan’s second year in the league.
Perdue’s final NBA contest came on April 29, 2001, in Game 3 of the First Round of the Western Conference playoffs, two years before King James was picked first overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2003.
“I was calling games for ESPN Radio and was personally right there, experiencing the games, talking to LeBron, having their huddles right to the right of me, watching him play, breaking down his game. I mean there’s things that he can do better than Michael and there’s things that Michael can do better than him,” he said. “But I think you’ve also got to bring Kobe Bryant into the mix as far as some of the greatest players. Larry Bird, there’s lot of guys you can talk about (for the GOAT). Magic Johnson, I know it’s kind of weird that people don’t usually say this a lot but, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. You just couldn’t defend the skyhook, but the biggest thing that I learned from Michael and playing with him was — and I use this example all the time — something that people don’t talk about is the ability to make the necessary sacrifices to make something happen. People talk about how badly they want something but at the end of the day you realize want it bad but not bad enough to make the ultimate sacrifice, whatever that may be.”
Perdue: ‘Michael (Jordan) was Willing to Make the Ultimate Sacrifice’
Perdue said there are “very few” people who will make the kind of “ultimate sacrifice” that MJ would over the course of his legendary 15-year career.
“Michael was willing to make the ultimate sacrifice — commitment, passion. But when I say the ultimate sacrifice, I mean, he was willing to win at all costs and some people say, that they just can’t go that far, or they can’t allow themselves to do that. It’s kind of a joke but just the mentality that he had to win at all costs, and on one hand it’s kind of scary because very few people go there,” the Melbourne, Florida native said. “Obviously Tiger Woods can go there, Michael Jordan can go there, Tom Brady has been able to go there, these are the people you talk about, and Joe Montana, you talk about the greatest, Wayne Gretzky.”
Perdue added that even though he picked Jordan as his “GOAT,” it’s not because there aren’t other candidates.
“It’s a fun debate. It’s enjoyable to talk about, but at the end of the day, Michael’s to me, the GOAT,” he said. “And that’s no slight to LeBron or Kobe or anybody, but it’s just kind of interesting when you hear them talk about it they feel like that you don’t respect their games or you don’t think they’re that good. It’s just that’s just the difference between everybody.”
Perdue on MJ: ‘Whether it was Tiddlywinks, Word Jumble, he Just Wanted to Win’
When “The Last Dance” documentary miniseries aired in 2020, fans got an even more in-depth look at just how competitive “Air Jordan” was in all aspects of life throughout his career.
Perdue revealed that the competitive nature even extended to some truly obscure types of games.
“In everything he did, he wanted to win, because he wanted to have the upper hand, whether it was H.O.R.S.E before or after practice, whether it was Tiddlywinks, Word Jumble, he just wanted to win. He just wanted to have the upper hand at all times and that’s just how competitive he was,” Perdue said.
The longtime backup to Bill Cartwright also discussed his upcoming participation in Michelob ULTRA’s 2025 “Play Like A Pro” program. The program will give fans a chance to “win superior access to ‘Play Like A Pro’ on some of the NBA’s most iconic courts and meet legendary players from around the league,’” according to a press release.
“Michelob ULTRA is teaming up with the Chicago Bulls, Golden State Warriors, Houston Rockets, Milwaukee Bucks, New York Knicks, and Orlando Magic to create ‘Play Like A Pro’ — the ultimate basketball experience where fans have a chance to play on the team’s official court and interact with a franchise favorite during the event.”
The deadline for fans to enter for their chance to win one of five spots to “Play Like A Pro” is March 14. The Bulls’ activation is slated for April 11.
“I think this opportunity with Michelob (ULTRA) is a good way to show some gratitude, but also give back to the fans, because they buy the tickets. They come to the arena. They invest their time, just like we do. That energy that they provide at the games, especially late in the season now, over 82 games, it kind of gets you over the top,” Perdue said. “I think this is really a cool way to go above and beyond, because it’s a really unique experience and the ability of these people when they’re sitting at the games, probably never think of this, but now they’re thinking ‘Hey, I have an opportunity to actually play on that court.’ And I think that’s pretty cool because a lot of people think that that’s probably never going to (happen).”
Former NBA champion and Warriors center Festus Ezeli (a Vanderbilt product like Perdue) is among the other participants and discussed his involvement with Heavy.com on Monday.
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This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
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