LeBron James is often touted as the 2nd best player in basketball history, with Stephen A. Smith recently proclaiming that. Not every fan and media member agrees with that, but it seems to be the consensus. However, despite his stellar start to his career in the early 2000s and throughout the decade or so that followed, the narrative around LeBron James was far from him being the second-greatest ever.
Until LeBron firmly cemented his legacy by bringing a title to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016 by historically coming back against the 73-win Golden State Warriors, he was still being compared to players that were a tier below the GOAT in MJ, including Magic Johnson and Larry Bird.
Reggie Miller’s comments on the Dan Patrick Show in 2015 provide some insight into the situation, he claimed after LeBron James’ Miami stint that if there was a draft, he would choose Larry Bird over LeBron James (via Bleacher Report).
“I gotta go with Larry Joe (Bird’s middle name is Joe),” Miller said. “In today’s rules, you can’t touch him!”
It was certainly far from a blasphemous take, Bird at the time had more championships than James and was recognized as one of the most ruthlessly efficient players in the history of the game. James had lost two NBA Finals in four seasons before that 2014-15 season, another knock against him, while his numbers at the age of 30 weren’t as good as the Celtics legend’s either.
LeBron has gone on to win another title, but it was the 2016 run that truly put him in the GOAT discussion, and if the legend is to be believed, convinced Michael Jordan to give the go-ahead on The Last Dance. It’s an odd thing to look back on now, but there are probably still people who believe Bird had a better career than James.
