Is Carli Lloyd the G.O.A.T.? The Tokyo Olympics could end the debate | Politi

Carli Lloyd

Carli Lloyd, Delran native and Rutgers graduate, is one of two dozen New Jersey Olympic hopefuls.Lori M. Nichols | NJ Advance Med

Like most sports fans at the start of the pandemic, Carli Lloyd passed the time in her quarantine reliving the final season of the Chicago Bulls dynasty. Michael Jordan. Phil Jackson. Scottie Pippen.

Drama. Backstabbing. NBA history.

“I was glued to it,” Lloyd said. “I wanted more.”

Unlike the rest of us, however, Lloyd wasn’t only watching for the distraction from COVID-19. Nor was she watching just as someone who idolized Jordan as she chased her own slice of greatness, first as a high school star in Delran, then as a trailblazer at Rutgers, and finally at the highest level with the U.S. Women’s National Team.

No, for Lloyd, “The Last Dance” was more than a fascinating documentary about the end of a sports dynasty. It was relatable. It was personal. It was a story about an athlete chasing a level of greatness that few have achieved in his sport, and while Lloyd hasn’t approached Jordan’s level of fame, G.O.A.T. status in women’s soccer is within her reach.

Is that a stretch?

Put it this way: Lloyd already has chiseled her face on the Mount Rushmore of her sport. If she leads this team to a third gold medal, after years as a clutch World Cup star, and to do so as the oldest U.S. player in Olympic history ...

Lloyd, in a recent conversation with NJ Advance Media, made it clear she is going to state her case on the field and not on the phone. No, she said, that’s for the rest of us to decide. That doesn’t mean she isn’t proud of her resume.

“People will talk about your legacy when you’re done, when you retire. I know deep down what I’ve done and accomplished, what I’ve had to overcome and what I’ve given to the sport,” she said. “Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week for 17 years on this stage, not to mention everything I did for that first chunk of my life.

“I guess that’s up for everybody else to talk and debate when I’m done playing. I couldn’t have done anything more in my career, and I still have a bit left to go. That’s all that really matters to me, winning championships and the relationships that I’ve formed. It’s been an incredible journey and hopefully it can keep going for a bit longer.”

That career will last at least one month longer, and even that seemed unlikely a few months ago. Lloyd had a diminished role on the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team in its 2019 World Cup run, underwent knee surgery during the pandemic and had to answer the inevitable questions about retirement that any athlete approaching her 40th birthday faces.

In this way, Lloyd is kindred spirits with the star of “The Last Dance.” Like Jordan, she used every slight — real or perceived — to fuel her over the past few months, and she not only made the 18-player Olympic roster, but did so as one of the team’s undisputed leaders. The overarching message: Doubt her at your own peril.

“Michael Jordan was someone that I looked up to,” Lloyd said. “He had the naysayers, the haters, the critics, but would always outwork every single other player. There’s no real secret. Everyone wants to figure out how he got to where he was, but it was pure hard work.

“That’s what always stuck with me throughout my life — seeing somebody like that who, even though they’ve won championships, going back into the gym at 10 o’clock at night and shooting a thousand more shots. That’s ultimately what it takes.”

If you want to pause here to raise your eyebrows about Jordan having “haters” besides “The Last Dance” villain Jerry Krause, feel free. Lloyd is one of the most celebrated soccer players in American history, but last week, she was firing back during a Zoom call at a sportswriter who dared to doubt her place on the Olympic team.

She isn’t apologizing for that. It isn’t the two gold-medal-winning goals she thinks about when preparing for the Olympics. It’s the team’s disappointing loss in the quarterfinals of the 2016 Rio Olympics that motivates her.

“You look at every great, you look at Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Tom Brady, Serena (Williams) — it’s always about trying to learn and get better from the challenging situations,” Lloyd said. “I always like to say failure propels you toward success if you use it in the right fashion, and I’ve done that throughout my career, using every opportunity I can to propel me forward in the past 17 years.

“That’s ultimately what makes greats — the ones who are able to mentally withstand everything that comes their way and then be able to use that momentum to push them to greater and greater heights. That’s what makes great moments and makes great athletes.”

Lloyd recognizes that she doesn’t have many moments like this left. She believes she’s in the best shape of her life, but after 17 years giving everything to her sport, the time has come to focus on her family and other goals.

She wants to make sure she can capitalize on the Olympic spotlight — this column, for example, is a product of her partnership with Secret deodorant, which she assures me helps protect her against three different kinds of sweat — while keep an eye on everything she’s put on hold to chase championships.

“Physically, I feel amazing,” Lloyd said. “I feel better than I ever have. So it’s a hard thing to juggle because of the way that I feel, it’s not going to be a physical thing for me to eventually retire. There are other things that I want to do in life — spend more time with my husband, we want to start a family together, spend more time with my family and friends — I’ve literally put every single thing in my life on hold for 17 years.

“At some point, all good things come to and end, but for me it’s mostly going to be the decision to walk away because of that next chapter.”

That chapter, for the first time in almost two decades, will include her family. The pandemic led to some soul searching for Lloyd, who parted ways with longtime trainer James Galanis while reconnecting with the blood relatives who were estranged during her rise to the top of the sport.

Her parents were among the supporters in attendance when Lloyd celebrated her 300th cap with the USWNT earlier this month, as she became just the third player in international soccer history to reach that milestone.

She already is in the conversation with Mia Hamm, Kristine Lilly, Megan Rapinoe and Abby Wambach, among a few others, as the greatest U.S. women’s soccer player of all time. These Olympics are unlikely to settle that debate, but Lloyd can make a compelling closing argument if she adds one more clutch performance in a career filled will them.

“I’m nearing the tail end of my career,” Lloyd said. “I want to savor every moment but also give it everything I have and have no regrets.”

Is Lloyd the G.O.A.T.? That’s up for debate. But her own “Last Dance” in Tokyo might be just as fascinating as the one we all watched on TV.

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Steve Politi may be reached at spoliti@njadvancemedia.com.

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