G.O.A.T.

April 09, 2024

Morry Gash / AP

Both the Women’s and Men’s NCAA Basketball Championships concluded this week and the winners crowned.  South Carolina beat Iowa (87-75) on Sunday to win its third NCAA women’s championship.  Iowa beat South Carolina in last year’s semi-final game but the Gamecocks dominated this year (38-0), including the final with Iowa.  UConn took back-to-back tournament titles defeating Purdue (75-60) on Monday to give its men’s basketball program their sixth national championship, a feat accomplished by only two other schools (Kentucky and UCLA).  UConn’s win meant they were the first team since Florida (2006-07) to repeat as national champions.  The Huskies tournament run included six double-digit wins.  Two of the brightest stars played for the losing teams.  Purdue’s Zach Edey was the Big Ten Player of the Year and consensus National Player of the Year in 2023 before losing in the first round last year and repeated as Big Ten Player of the Year in 2024.  Edey’s 31 points Monday gave him 171 points in tournament play this year, for the third-best single tournament points of all time, behind Princeton’s Bill Bradley in 1965 (177 points) and Michigan’s Glen Rice in 1989 (184).   Iowa’s Caitlin Clark led the Hawkeyes to back-to-back finals (lost both), broke the Division I scoring record for both women and men, won all major national player of the year awards for 2024, and had 30 points in her final game.  Both are expected to be the No. 1 pick in their respective drafts and are in conversations around whether they are the G.O.A.T.

When I looked online, I found the term G.O.A.T. (Greatest Of All Time), or GOAT, refers to someone at the top of their field.  The acronym is used to praise exceptional athletes but may refer to musicians and public figures.  The term is attributed the boxer Muhammad Ali who called himself “The Greatest”.  Ali’s wife, Lonnie Ali, incorporated a company called “G.O.A.T. Inc” in 1992 that held all assets related to her husband’s image.  This was the first notable instance of GOAT used to refer to “greatest of all time”.  The term gained wider popularity in 2000 with the release of the LL Cool J’s studio album “G.O.A.T.”, which went platinum and reached #1 in the US, solidifying the place of the term in pop culture.  Other examples of athletes referred to as the G.O.A.T. of their sports include Tom Brady (American Football), Serena Williams (Tennis), Michael Phelps (Swimming), and Tiger Woods (Golf).  The two features of any GOAT are to be at the top of and dominate their game and to win championships.

While Clark and Edey dominated their sport the last two years, neither won a Championship.  That can be said of other GREAT basketball players who have dominated the league with their skill and leadership but never won an NBA championship.  I cheered as John Stockton and Karl Malone went to the finals in 1996-97 and 1997-98, losing both series to Jordan’s Chicago Bulls.  Stockton started for the Jazz for 16 years until he retired at 41 years old and still holds career steals (3,265) and assist records (15,806).  Jason Kidd is second behind Stockton in assists with 3,705.  Malone is considered one of the Top 3 power forwards in NBA history.  During his 19-year career he averaged 25.0 points, 10.1 rebounds and 3.6 assists, career marks that can only be equaled by two other players (Elgin Baylor and Wilt Chamberlain).  Malone’s 36,928 career points rank second all-time while his 14,968 career rebounds rank seventh.  Neither is in the conversation for the G.O.A.T.

THOUGHTS:  The problem when ranking the G.O.A.T. is that there can be only one (per field) so to be one is rare.  That is why most ranking lists prefer to speak in terms of Top 10 and may even hedge and dispute their own rankings.  The rest of us can still excel and strive to be the B.T.W.C. (Best That We Can).  Frankly, that is the same goal of those we now consider the G.O.A.T.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.