For most basketball fans and analysts, Lakers star LeBron James ranks among the best players in NBA history. Still, according to NBA analyst Skip Bayless, he’s barely in the top 10.
In the aftermath of a Game 2 loss to the Thunder, when LeBron finished 23 points, two rebounds, six assists, three steals, and zero blocks on 50.0% shooting, Bayless crowned the 41-year-old forward as the “longevity GOAT” without giving him any ground in his personal player rankings.
“LeBron played exceptionally well tonight,” wrote Bayless on X. “Longevity GOAT. Hanging on to 9th on my all-time ranking.”
Bayless, a notorious LeBron critic, has never been high on the King, and he just hasn’t seen enough to justify putting him over other legends like Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, or even Larry Bird. Skip even has Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan ranked above LeBron, who are almost universally ranked below him.
It’s a controversial take that borders on disrespect, but Bayless only doubled down on his position when he gave his full list live on the air of First Take this morning. He started where he always does: with the Bulls legend himself, Michael Jordan.
10. Wilt Chamberlain
9. LeBron James
8. Larry Bird
7. Kobe Bryant
6. Bill Russell
5. Tim Duncan
4. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
3. Shaquille O’Neal
2. Magic Johnson
1. Michael Jordan
With six championships, five MVPs, 10 scoring titles, 14 All-Star appearances, and a 6-0 Finals record, it’s hard for anybody to compare to MJ’s greatness. That’s not even to mention his career stat line of 30.1 points, 6.2 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 1.5 steals, and 0.5 blocks per game on 44.5% shooting and 29.1% shooting from three. So, whether you agree on Michael’s GOAT status or not, it’s certainly a respectable take to label him as the basketball GOAT.
From there, things get much less agreeable. Point guard Magic Johnson (five-time champion, three-time MVP), center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (six-time MVP, six-time champion, second all-time leading scorer), and “the Diesel” Shaquille O’Neal (four-time champion, three-time Finals MVP) are all legends in their own right, but none have achieved what LeBron has over his historic NBA run. James has already matched or surpassed their greatest feats, especially in the categories of scoring (ranks first All-Time with 43,440) and playmaking (fourth all-time with 12,016).
Celtics legend Larry Bird may not have the same longevity as James, but his greatness is undeniable, with career averages of 24.3 points, 10.0 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.7 blocks per game on 49.6% shooting from the field and 37.6% shooting from three. Even so, with just 13 seasons played, James has nearly doubled his NBA tenure without any major regression or fall-off.
Despite LeBron’s countless records and his 23-year resume (and counting) as a four-time champion, four-time MVP, and 22x All-Star, Skip Bayless isn’t ready to crown him as the NBA’s GOAT; not even close. Besides the heights that others before him achieved, Skip says it’s LeBron’s own shortcomings that keep him from climbing higher on his list.
Skip Bayless Reveals His Issues With LeBron
While James has already solidified his GOAT status for so many others, Bayless is one of the few critics who still has him outside his top five. Among other things, the reasoning has to do with LeBron’s history of switching teams, questionable perimeter shooting, and a lack of a “clutch gene” that Kobe Bryant and Michal Jordan were so famous for.
“Obviously, we agree that Michael Jeffrey Jordan from Chicago, Illinois, is, by far and away, the GOAT,” said Bayless. “The eight players over LeBron, starting with Jordan, are all cold-blooded basketball killers that I would trust with games for my life. LeBron James, to me, has proven over many, many years to be the most mentally fragile superstar that I have ever closely observed. The poor man, as gifted as he is, was born without a clutch gene. So, he’s lucky to be in the top 10 because he’s a liability and always has been at the late-game free-throw line. You can just look it up. By superstar standards, he is a poor free-throw shooter for his career at 74%, and an even poorer three-point shooter at 35% for his career. And you wanna talk about launching LeBricks? He’s launched a lot of LeBricks in his day.”
Despite Skip’s claims that LeBron doesn’t have a “clutch gene,” the King actually holds the most career clutch points and most clutch field goals made in NBA history, with 2,865 and 1,010, respectively. He’s also first all-time in clutch three-pointers made (300). It’s stats like these that really reflect LeBron’s greatness, showing not only his ability to rise to the occasion but also his consistency and impact in nearly every facet of the game.
Unlike Shaquille O’Neal or Magic Johnson, who had glaring weaknesses or limitations in their game, LeBron James is elite at almost everything on the floor, and that’s part of the reason he’s been able to stay effective for so long. In that respect, only Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, and Kareem-Abdul Jabbar can really hold up. Ultimately, LeBron’s greatness is more than just physical dominance; it also involves mental mastery, adapting and evolving his game like no superstar before him.
With his future entirely open-ended, only James knows how and when his NBA story will end, but what more can he do to make his GOAT case? Short of winning another title, his place in NBA history may already be set, and it will always be a debate as long as Michael Jordan’s legacy is there to compare it to.
