The Messi vs. Ronaldo GOAT debate in NBA terms will drive Lakers fans mad

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Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are somehow still playing, at a high level, at a record sixth World Cup.

Messi is the defending champion with Argentina. Ronaldo is the still-scoring Portugal superstar. And with the 2026 FIFA World Cup co-hosted by the United States, there are a lot of fans who want to understand their debate -- some would call it the GOAT debate -- in terms of another sport, like the NBA.

There's no perfect way of doing this, but there's one comparison that comes to mind that has a lot of overlap with Messi and Ronaldo.

They're at least a little bit like LeBron James (Messi) and Kobe Bryant (Ronaldo).

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Messi vs. Ronaldo GOAT debate in NBA terms​

We'll admit right off the bat that the comparisons aren't perfect, but they're the best we're going to do in modern NBA players.

Messi compares to LeBron, a totally legitimate case at being the greatest player of all time.

There's also an element of unselfishness to the way Messi carries himself, and at least relative to Kobe, that's how LeBron feels, too.

Ronaldo is more like Bryant in some ways -- Kobe was more shot-happy, which is how Ronaldo ought to be described, as well.

The other Kobe overlap is this -- there isn't actually a great case for Bryant as the GOAT. Michael Jordan was a better player at the exact same position, so how could Kobe be the greatest?

Ronaldo doesn't really have a great case as the best player of his own era. Messi wins most arguments. So it's tough to make the overall case for every era.

Of course, there are other considerations for GOAT -- Pele topping the list.

And yes, LeBron and Kobe didn't overlap as directly in their career timelines as Messi and Ronaldo. It's hard to make either of these players out to be Stephen Curry, though. Maybe Kevin Durant could compare to Ronaldo in some ways, as well.

It's a fun conversation, but a tough one to really nail down.

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Messi vs. Ronaldo stats​

They've both been around doing amazing things for a long time:

Messi	Ronaldo
Goals	916	975
Assists	414	261
League titles	13	8
Champions League titles	4	5
World Cup wins	1	0
Ballon D'or Awards	8	5

Messi has also become the all-time leading goal scorer in World Cup history during this tournament -- although France's Kylian Mbappe may end up with that record by the time all is said and done.

More FIFA World Cup news:​

• USA, England can't actually play on July 4th
• Why Norway brought 600 pounds of salmon to the World Cup
• Eloy Room leads Curacao to astounding World Cup history
• It had to be Mo Salah for Egypt
• Lamine Yamal outdoes Messi, Ronaldo in historic moment for Spanish wunderkind

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