LeBron: I'm chasing Jordan's greatness, not his 6 rings

LeBron James has said he's chasing the ghost of a certain someone who used to play for the Chicago Bulls - Michael Jordan, obviously.

It's been debated what the Cleveland Cavaliers megastar would have to do in order to catch - and perhaps surpass - the GOAT, and the consensus is he'd need to match Jordan's ring count of six. The 31-year-old is halfway there after ending Cleveland's title drought earlier this summer.

However, James recently clarified he's not chasing those six championships.

"No, I'm chasing that greatness, how great that ghost was," the four-time NBA MVP told ESPN's Rachel Nichols in an interview that premiered Sunday.

"It's the same as anybody setting out goals and trying to reach it. That's just my personal goal. Everyone automatically (said) 'Oh, he's talking down on MJ. He's trying to be better than MJ.'"

For all the hype around his comments, King James said the objective isn't new.

"That's always been my goal since I got in the NBA," he explained. "When I was 18 years old, I told everyone that my favorite player was Michael Jordan, hopefully I can get to that point."

Though he's long acknowledged Jordan as the best hooper of all time, James "absolutely" wants to be in that conversation when it's all said and done.

"I want to maximize what I can do, and if I can be in a situation where I'm even talked about as the best basketball ever, that'll be great," he added.