The Philadelphia 76ers have made one big splash this offseason by acquiring Jaylen Brown from the Boston Celtics, and they could make another. The 76ers are reportedly among the frontrunners to land LeBron James, and Hall of Famer Charles Barkley was asked about the possibility of him coming to Philadelphia on Unfiltered.
“That ship has sailed,” Barkley said. “I’ve said this, the biggest criticism of LeBron James is always being that he packs his team. Because he’s always packed his team, because he’s chasing this imaginary Michael Jordan ghost, which he need to let go… I love LeBron. He spends more time talking about he’s the GOAT, and Michael Jordan says I never say I’m the GOAT. And then you got these people who argue all the time, which is stupid.”
James has indeed called himself the greatest of all time on multiple occasions over the years. It’s Michael Jordan who remains the more popular pick for that title, though, and he believes there is no such thing as a GOAT in basketball. It’s two completely different approaches.
Barkley isn’t a fan of this GOAT debate, but does believe Jordan deserves that title. He, in fact, doesn’t even put James ahead of Kobe Bryant.
James forming superteams has always been something Barkley has held against him, and he hopes he doesn’t go down that route again. The 63-year-old thinks the free agent forward should go back home to the Cleveland Cavaliers.
“He should go back to Cleveland and finish his career there,” Barkley said. “If he goes to Philly, people going to say he’s ring chasing to catch Michael. If he goes to Golden State, they’re going to say he’s ring chasing. He don’t have no affiliation to Philadelphia or Golden State. What he does have is his hometown team, who listen, I’ll be honest with you guys, if he goes to the Cavaliers… they’re probably going to be favored to win the East, in my opinion, because they got a good team.
“They’re lacking leadership,” Barkley continued. “And LeBron’s a great leader. And to me, it’ll be a fitting way for him to finish his career, in my opinion.”
The Cavaliers do appear to be the likeliest destination. They do have a good team, but it’s clear they are not going to win it all, as presently constructed. Leadership is one of the reasons that has been thrown around, and Barkley had said during the Eastern Conference Finals that James would help fix that problem. It will be interesting to see what he does.
Even if James wins another title with the Cavaliers, though, Barkley is unlikely to change his mind on the GOAT debate. He keeps getting asked about it despite his dislike of it, and here’s what he had to say this time.
“The three best basketball players I’ve ever seen in order, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James,” Barkley said. “Listen, we all got our own opinions. Some people think Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar] is there. But the three best basketball players I’ve seen were Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron.
“And I’ll tell you guys the difference,” Barkley continued. “Nobody ever said Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant was a nice guy. Now, LeBron’s a nice guy… Michael and Kobe, they want to kill you at all costs. That’s what separates them, in my opinion. Everybody like LeBron. He’s a nice man. He’s a great, great basketball player. But them other two guys, they were fanatics.
“I mean, they were dangerous,” Barkley added. “… So when I hear that debate, I said, you can pick who you want to. But if you talk about guys who singularly only care about winning, I’ve never seen anybody like Michael and Kobe.”
There is nothing James can do to change that, can he? He’ll never catch Jordan in Barkley’s eyes.
