INDEPENDENCE, Ohio (AP) — Ngayong, natupad na niya ang ipinangakong kampeonato sa Cleveland, hindi na atubili si LeBron James na aminin ang ‘ultimate goal’ sa career: mapantayan hindi man malagpasan sa tugatog si Michael Jordan.

“It’s a personal goal,” pahayag ni James sa The Associated Press nitong Lunes (Martes sa Manila).

“I just never brought it up. It’s my own personal goal to be able to be greater than great. I think that should be everybody’s personal goal.”

Classic movie ‘Ipaglaban Mo!’, ipinalabas ng CCP bilang kampanya vs VAWC

Sa edad na 32-anyos, three-time NBA champion na si James, tampok ang katuparan na pawiin ang 52 taong pagkauhaw sa kampeonato ng Cleveland nang maitarak ng Cavaliers ang come-from-behind na panalo sa Golden State Warriors sa nakalipas na season.

Maraming isyu ang natalakay sa 10 minutong panayam ng AP, ngunit nangibabaw ang direktang pag-amin ni James na tulad ng iba ‘I wanted to be like Mike’, patungkol sa basketball icon na si Jordan na nagbida sa anim na kampeonato ng Chicago Bulls sa dekada 90.

Inamin ni James na idolo niya si Jordan ng kanyang kabataan at tulad nang maraming batang basketball player sa mundo, nais niyang marating ang narating ng tinaguriang ‘The Air’.

Sa nakalipas na mga panayam, pilit na iniiwas ni James na maikumpara siya kay Jordan, ngunit matapos magkampeon ang Cavs, ipinahayag niya sa panayam ng Sports Illustrated na “my motivation is this ghost I’m chasing. The ghost played in Chicago.”

“If you work for any company or you work for any designer or anywhere, you’re like, ‘Oh, I aspire to be that guy because he’s done it right.’ He’s the greatest and that’s who you look at.”

“So that’s always been my personal goal, to use the motivation he gave me as a kid and I’ll use it as motivation now as well that I want to get to where he is. That’s never changed. People kind of wanted to turn it into a conversation, but that’s my personal goal and that’s where I land at,” aniya.