Former NBA player Brandon Jennings recently gave his list of the top five scorers in NBA history and raised some eyebrows in the process. Jennings was on the Captain Jack Podcast when he was asked to share his list, and he left off LeBron James but included Michael Beasley.
“Top five scorers ever to pick up a basketball? Let’s go Michael Jordan, let’s go Kobe (Bryant), I like Kevin Durant, I like Michael Beasley… scoring just (a) bucket, Kyrie Irving,” Jennings said.
Co-hosts Ian Jackson and Pat Wavyy also seemed a bit puzzled by Beasley’s inclusion. Wavyy’s biggest complaint about that list was that Carmelo Anthony didn’t make it in over Beasley and LeBron’s name didn’t even come up in the conversation.
As for why Jennings had Beasley in there, he claims no one could guard him. He believes Beasley, who last played in the NBA in 2019, can score 25 points in a game today.
While Beasley was a gifted scorer, to have him in there over the likes of James and Anthony is a bit much. At the end of the day, the most points he ever averaged in a season was 19.2 in 2010-11.
Beasley finished his NBA career with averages of just 12.4 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.6 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game. Some off-the-court issues meant he never quite fulfilled his potential, but even if he had, I don’t think he would have gone down as one of the five greatest scorers ever.
LeBron, on the other hand, is the NBA’s all-time leading scorer and became the first player in history to hit the 40,000 mark earlier this year. James currently has 40,409 points to his name and he will put the scoring record beyond reach by the time he retires. Kevin Garnett believes LeBron is the greatest scorer ever and even if you disagree with that, he is certainly in the top five by now.
As for the rest of the list, there can’t be a whole lot of arguments against Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and Kevin Durant. Jordan has won a record 10 scoring titles, while Durant has four and Bryant has two. Almost everyone would have those three in their top five and rightly so.
Kyrie Irving, however, was another peculiar selection. Sure, Irving is arguably the most skilled player ever, but I don’t think he is one of the greatest scorers we have ever seen.
Irving has never really come close to winning even one scoring title and I wouldn’t have him in my top five. Off the top of my head, the likes of Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Allen Iverson, and James Harden would all be ahead of him.
Antoine Walker Also Excluded LeBron James From His List Of The Five Greatest Scorers
Jennings is far from the only former player who thinks James isn’t deserving of a spot in the top five, though. Antoine Walker also snubbed LeBron from his list of the top five NBA scorers of all time. Walker had Jordan as his greatest scorer ever, with Bryant being second. He then went with Larry Bird at three, Chamberlain at four, and Iverson at five.
Walker’s list was certainly a lot better than what Jennings came up with, but he too doesn’t have James in there. I do wonder what more LeBron has to do to even get into the top five. Walker did add, though, that James probably ranks sixth for him.
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