LeBron James is 37-year-olds and currently the most decorated active player in the league. The Los Angeles Lakers superstar has everything an athlete could dream of achieving in the NBA.
He has the championships, MVP awards, Finals MVPs, All-Star appearances, and more. But if there is one thing that James doesn’t have, it is a clear path to being considered the GOAT of basketball.
Even though Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan retired from the league almost two decades ago, most fans still consider him to be the GOAT. Now, James has certainly closed the gap over the years, but it seems really far-fetched that he might surpass MJ as the GOAT.
Everyone has a different reason for their stance on LBJ not being the greatest player of all time. Recently. NBA Hall of Famer turned analyst Shaquille O’Neal shared his two cents about the same in “The Big Podcast with Shaq.”
“LeBron is my guy, but nobody was ever scared of LeBron. So, if you’re not scared of a guy, you just have much more confidence. That’s a dangerous guy to play with. They respect him, but they don’t fear him ’cause I can tell, I watched him playing against them, they not scared.”
It goes without saying that MJ was certainly feared among his competitors during his playing games. In fact, many believe only Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant had a mentality similar to Jordan’s. But is instating fear in the league important for a player to be considered the GOAT? Well, NBA analyst Skip Bayless certainly seems to believe that.
“Love what Shaq said about LeBron: ‘Nobody was ever scared of him.’ Exactly. EVERYBODY was scared of Jordan … nobody of nice-guy, can’t-close LeBron.”
Love what Shaq said about LeBron: "Nobody was ever scared of him." Exactly. EVERYBODY was scared of Jordan … nobody of nice-guy, can't-close LeBron. Can't wait to hear Shannon try to defend this on tomorrow's Undisputed.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) April 15, 2022
If there is someone who will always downplay LeBron, it is none other than Skip. This time around, he has used Shaq’s comments about James to tear apart LeBron’s case as the GOAT.
Whatever be the case, James might still be a couple of championships short before being considered the GOAT among the majority of the fans regardless of if he is feared or not.
