Michael Jordan has made it clear he doesn't want GOAT title: It 'disrespects' the legends I never competed against

The Bulls legend explained in a 2009 interview why he'd never consider himself as the greatest basketball player ever

There's been quite a bit of talk as of late about who is the greatest of all time when it comes to the NBA.

Last week, James called himself the greatest player of the all time for his NBA Finals win over the Golden State Warriors back in 2016. On Wednesday, a video interview from 2009 surfaced in which Michael Wilbon asked Michael Jordan if he considered himself the "greatest basketball player ever." Jordan responded by saying that he doesn't want that title because it "disrespects" the great names who played before his time.

"I don't want it in a sense because I think it disrespects Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West -- you know all the guys that prior to me I never had a chance to play against," Jordan said. "What everybody is saying I am, I never had the chance to compete against other legends that was prior to me. When I hear it, I cringe a little bit because it's a little bit embarrassing because no one knows. I never had the chance to, once again, to play against those guys. I would love to have played against them but I never did. And for you to say that I'm better than him ... I mean it's your opinion; it's their opinion. I accept that as their opinion. If you ask me, I would never say that I am the greatest player. That's because I never played against all the people that represented the league prior to Michael Jordan."

Jordan's comments are certainly interesting because most of the "GOAT" debate revolves around James and Jordan. The Chicago Bulls legend mentions that he wishes that he could've had a chance to play against some of the league's greats prior to his arrival into the NBA.

On the contrary, James appeared on ESPN's "More Than An Athlete," and circled back to his most recent NBA title with his Cleveland Cavaliers. As that championship sunk in, James mentions in the interview that he thought to himself "that one right there made you the greatest player of all time." It was the first professional sports championship for the city of Cleveland. Of course, James doesn't bring up Jordan at all in terms of the "GOAT" debate.

The timing of this interview's release is certainly very intriguing given James making such comments within the last week. This certainly adds another layer to the debate and Jordan looks extremely humble given his stance on being the greatest ever.