Watch the latest edition of Heatcheck on Sky Sports Arena on Wednesday at 8pm, followed by NBA Retro at 9pm
Wednesday 17 June 2020 11:57, UK
Heatcheck regulars Ovie Soko and Mo Mooncey do not shy away from arguing with each other but the pair were in total agreement when asked to pick a shooting guard for their all-time NBA starting five.
On the latest edition of Heatcheck, available to watch online now and broadcast on Sky Sports Arena on Wednesday at 8pm, Soko and Mooncey selected Michael Jordan, agreeing that picking the shooting guard for their all-time line-up was the easiest decision to make.
"Let me put it this way, Michael Jordan is the GOAT and he is a ghost you can never catch," said Soko. "You might be able to see the ghost in the distance but you can never catch it. No one can. It can't be caught. It's not possible.
"His MVPs, his two title three-peats, his sheer dominance across the entire time he was in the NBA. He was giving them hell from the moment he got into the league and he left still breaking records. MJ is the only person I could go with."
"If we are talking shooting guards, we must mention the legendary Kobe Bryant. No conversation about great shooting guards can happen without Kobe's name being mentioned. Jordan himself said Kobe would beat him one on one. But we are not talking about one on ones, we are talking about an all-time starting five. Michael Jordan is the only acceptable answer for this question," said Mooncey.
"The shooting guard position is the easiest one in an all-time starting five and the most clear-cut decision for anyone to pick. Look at what Michael Jordan did for the NBA. If Jordan did not come along and put the league on the worldwide stage like he did, would we be sitting here right now doing this? What he did for basketball across the world is more than any player has ever done arguably in any sport.
Heatcheck host Jaydee Dyer asked, given Bryant's longevity, his five NBA championships and staggering scoring exploits, if there was any scenario in which they would consider picking Bryant ahead of Jordan in their all-time line-ups.
"Kobe was great and his and Jordan's respective bodies of work speak for themselves," said Soko. "But I don't think there is a Kobe without MJ. For me, that's the reason you have to go with Jordan. It's almost like going with the master over the student. I genuinely believe Jordan was the master and someone that Bryant studied and tried to emulate."
"In this particular race, Bryant is only slightly behind Jordan but Michael Jordan is the 'GOAT'. How are you going to leave the greatest player of all-time off your all-time starting five?" Mooncey said.
"It's no disrespect to Kobe Bryant who was an amazing, legendary player in his own right, he just happened to play the same position as the greatest basketball player of all-time."
Who will Ovie and Mo pick for the remaining positions in their all-time starting fives? Watch Heatcheck on Sky Sports' YouTube channel every Tuesday to find out.