Celtic icon Pierce cast doubt on Michael Jordan's goat identity

Boston Celtics legend Paul Pierce has previously said that Michael Jordan is the greatest player of all time. However, he seems to be suspicious of the recent debate about goats.

On Twitter, Pierce opened the topic again and expressed his confusion as to why Abdul-Jabbar has never been a hot topic — for some, Abdul-Jabbar is often on the topics of Jordan, LeBron James and Kobe Bryant. In Pierce's view, fans and experts alike need to rethink this issue and give Abdul-Jabbar some respect.

Paul Pierce: In listening to the Goats talk, why Jabbar has never been at the top, Jabbar, 6 championships, 6 mvp, has always been the leading scorer and the most unstoppable shot, we need to rethink this guy

While this is nothing new, the Celtic icon is right to expose the issue. Karim Abdul-Jabbar played at a time when basketball was not yet popular and even at its peak, and his achievements were not well received much praise.

Not only did he win 6 NBA championships and 6 regular-season MVPs, but he also became the NBA's highest scoring player with 38,387 points, a record that still holds up 32 years after he retired.

Michael Jordan is often considered the best player because of his dominance in the NBA in the early and late '90s. He has accomplished so much on the pitch, and his scoring ability and elite level of defense make him very strong. Still, Karim certainly has a strong argument, which is not to be underestimated compared to the arguments of Jordan or LeBron James.

But, like Paul Pierce hinted at, as the league has evolved and changed over the years, it's really hard to come up with a real goat.