The debate of who is the GOAT of basketball has been ongoing for several years now. While there could be a case for several players for this title, as per different fans, there are two common names in the race. They are none other than Michael Jordan and LeBron James.
Although the majority believes MJ is the undisputed GOAT, LeBron has edged closer to him as time has passed. Moreover, James still has a few years left in him and can further improve his case for being considered the GOAT.
What makes James’ pursuit of becoming the GOAT is the fact that the amount of expectations that he has to fulfill is truly unmatched. Even before playing a single game in the NBA, fans already expected him to surpass the legacy of Mike.
Former NBA player and now-analyst Charles Barkley recently weighed in on this debate on a podcast with Draymond Green. Barkley said:
“Let me tell you something, I am an MJ guy, I make that clear. But I think what LeBron has accomplished is arguably the greatest story in sports history. For number one, you look at Kobe, Kevin Garnett, guys like that, they were not good players when they first got into the NBA.”
He continued, “LeBron is the only player in my 40 years in the NBA, who has played great from day one. And for him to turn into one of the best players ever, he’s never gotten in trouble. Especially in this 24-hour news cycle with social media, for him to be as great as he is from year 18 to where he is at now, I think it’s one of the greatest stories in sports history.”
(starts at 51:40)
Barkley is someone who has battled against Jordan for the most part of his career. On the other hand, he has observed the career of LeBron from day one. So Chuck’s opinion has a lot of weight behind it.
Although he still considers Jordan the GOAT, Barkley admitted that the career of James is definitely one of the greatest stories in the history of the NBA.
Apart from talking about LeBron’s greatness, Barkley’s interview was quite enjoyable to watch as he also compared Draymond Green to Dennis Rodman. Green’s podcast has been going pretty great and we hope that remains the case in the future, so fans can keep getting amazing content to watch.
