Stephen A. Smith Blasted Rich Paul For Saying It Is Insulting To Rank LeBron James As The Second-Best Player Ever: “Get The F*** Out Of My Face”

Stephen A. Smith thought Rich Paul was out of his mind for saying that it's insulting to rank LeBron James as the second-best player ever.

4 Min Read

Credit: Fadeaway World

  • Stephen A. Smith believes LeBron James is the second-best player of all time
  • LeBron’s agent and good friend Rich Paul felt that was an insult
  • Smith was furious and felt Paul had lost his mind

LeBron James is one of the greatest players in NBA history, and some consider him to be the greatest. Stephen A. Smith isn’t one of them and it appears that wasn’t something that sat well with LeBron’s agent Rich Paul. During an appearance on Podcast P, Smith spoke about a conversation between himself and Paul on the topic.

“I got him as the second-best player in the history of basketball,” Smith said. “I got him, ahead of Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar). I got him behind no one but (Michael) Jordan and I said to Mr. Chirper himself, Rich Paul – my boy – and I said, you act like that’s an insult. This dude [said] ‘It is an insult.’ I said ‘Get the f*** out of my face.’

“Exactly what I said to him,” Smith continued. “I don’t want to talk to you no more. When you gonna treat me like I’m disrespecting a man by calling him, in the history of the game that started in 1947, you gonna tell me that I’m disrespecting a man by having him No. 2 all-time, you’ve lost your damn mind. I’m not talking to you.”

(starts at 1:05:51 mark):

It would be insulting if Smith had said LeBron isn’t a top 10 player of all time. The 38-year-old has won four titles, four Finals MVPs, four MVPs, and is the all-time leader in points, so he deserves to be in the conversation for greatest ever. But, to say that someone who believes Michael Jordan is better than James is insulting LeBron is a bit much. It’s not a surprise that Smith got upset at Paul after that.

We did a career comparison of Jordan and LeBron, with the former edging out the latter by a 5-3 margin. The Chicago Bulls legend has won more titles, Finals MVPs, and MVPs while also making more All-Defensive Teams, and he has a higher career player efficiency rating as well.


Rich Paul Believes LeBron James Faced More Obstacles Than Michael Jordan

Paul once said that LeBron faced more obstacles than Jordan, that the road for James was just as hard, if not harder, than it was for the Bulls legend. Paul felt that everyone wanted LeBron to be like Jordan from the get-go, but he wasn’t like his idol. The CEO of Klutch Sports also thinks there were many more who were rooting for LeBron to fail than to see him succeed in the beginning.

Paul also stated that if the GOAT debate is about rings, then it should be Bill Russell for his 11 championships. He brought up LeBron going to NBA Finals for half his career as a very difficult thing to do and added he isn’t going to spend his time arguing with talking heads about who they think is the GOAT.

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Gautam Varier is a staff writer and columnist for Fadeaway World from Mumbai, India. He graduated from Symbiosis International University with a Master of Business specializing in Sports Management in 2020. This educational achievement enables Gautam to apply sophisticated analytical techniques to his incisive coverage of basketball, blending business acumen with sports knowledge.Before joining Fadeaway World in 2022, Gautam honed his journalistic skills at Sportskeeda and SportsKPI, where he covered a range of sports topics with an emphasis on basketball. His passion for the sport was ignited after witnessing the high-octane offense of the Steve Nash-led Phoenix Suns. Among the Suns, Shawn Marion stood out to Gautam as an all-time underrated NBA player. Marion’s versatility as a defender and his rebounding prowess, despite being just 6’7”, impressed Gautam immensely. He admired Marion’s finishing ability at the rim and his shooting, despite an unconventional jump shot, believing that Marion’s skill set would have been even more appreciated in today’s NBA.This transformative experience not only deepened his love for basketball but also shaped his approach to sports writing, enabling him to connect with readers through vivid storytelling and insightful analysis.
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