Charles Barkley has taken aim at NBA media personalities for constantly bringing up the GOAT debate between Michael Jordan and LeBron James. Speaking on ‘The Steam Room’ podcast with Ernie Johnson, Barkley called the practice ‘lazy journalism’, and lambasted the media for pitting people against each other and creating negative discourse surrounding two of the greatest players ever.
“I don’t get into the debate between Michael [Jordan] and LeBron [James] because I think it’s weak journalism when guys on TV and radio try to get fools to call in the order. They’re both great.”
Ironically enough, despite Barkley not wanting to get into the debate between Michael Jordan and LeBron James, he proceeded to do just that, as he explained why he considers Michael Jordan to be the better player, despite having a great deal of respect for LeBron James.
“Michael Jordan’s the best basketball player I ever played against. These young kids, they played against LeBron. I was caught off-guard last week when Ernie said [James was just a few games behind Jordan in 30-point scoring games].”
“And I was like, ‘And he’s played, like, seven more years?’ That’s an astonishing stat. As great as LeBron is, he’s still behind Michael Jordan in 30-point games, and he’s played seven more seasons. That is astonishing.”
“Even if you think LeBron is the GOAT, you wouldn’t have known that. And I’m never gonna say anything bad about LeBron, because he’s an amazing man and a hell of a player.”
"I don't get into the debate between Michael [Jordan] and LeBron [James] because I think it's weak journalism when guys on TV and radio try to get fools to call in the order. They're both great."
– Charles Barkley
(via @NBAonTNT, "The Steam Room")pic.twitter.com/t4d1LtReB8
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) December 8, 2024
Barkley’s words are very accurate. However, it is hard to see his point there, considering he himself has engaged in this debate on numerous occasions. Most recently, he shut down LeBron James’ GOAT case in defense of Michael Jordan.
However, he does make a salient point about the NBA media consistently pedaling the GOAT debate for engagement. Many in the mainstream basketball media have found that asking people to choose between the two greatest players of all time is an easy way to farm engagement and reactions from their audience.
As far as Barkley refusing to say anything bad about James, that isn’t entirely true either. Just a few weeks ago, he called LeBron James a ‘bum’, although that may have been in jest.
Barkley Defends Jordan Despite Failed Friendship
Charles Barkley has consistently called Michael Jordan the greatest player of all time. This is in spite of the fact that Jordan and Barkley had a falling out a few years ago, and are no longer on speaking terms.
Barkley and Jordan used to be the best of friends. They were often seen spending time with each other off the court. In fact, Cedric The Entertainer recently told the story of gambling with Charles Barkley and Michael Jordan in Las Vegas, and how the two would enjoy gambling together.
But after Barkley made some comments about Jordan and the way he was running the Hornets, their friendship collapsed and hasn’t been the same since. Hopefully, the two former friends can reconnect one day, and not let a few harsh words get in the way of what was a very strong bond between the two.
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