LeBron James: Is he right to claim the GOAT title for himself?
By Ronald Agers
Chris Webber, Isiah Thomas and Kevin McHale have words about the subject…
These three great players had a discussion on what was said by James on his show…
Here are some highlighted points starting with Chris Webber…
"“I’ve never heard one of the greatest’s say they were the greatest of all-time,” Webber said. “[James must realize] part of your greatness is not answering haters. You don’t have to respond to anybody. You’re one of the best. Stay humble.”"
Webber is one of the more “politically correct” analysts on NBA TV, to be honest. But even he had the awkward look of someone that knew that was not the move LeBron James should have made. There is a responsibility that LeBron James has not to participate in this type of behavior.
Is it wrong for LeBron James to believe this? No. He’d better have a insurmountable amount of belief in himself to perform at this level for 16 years. Confidence is the ingredient to survive on any basketball court, not just in the NBA. But this comment came off as arrogant.
Let’s break down Kevin McHale’s comments…
"“You don’t need to say that about yourself. Let other people say that for you,” McHale said. “It’s disrespectful to the great, great, great players that came before you. I didn’t like how [his comments] sounded.”"
Let’s just skip Jordan and take him out of the equation. Let’s just talk about the organization that LeBron plays for now…the Los Angeles Lakers.
He is not better than Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the NBA’s all time leading scorer with six NBA championships. He brought five to Los Angeles. He was considered one of the two best players in the “Showtime” era days (We’ll get to the other player in a second!). The “Skyhook” was consider the most unstoppable offensive weapon in all sports at the time. I hear all the time about the usage rate of LeBron James at 34. The “Captain” was killing people at 38.
Oh that other player I was talking about…
LeBron James is not better than Magic Johnson.
Magic Johnson has five titles right along with Kareem. LeBron James has never saved the NBA! Before this man and a certain player in Boston named Larry Bird came along, the NBA was on life support. Before this man came into the NBA, the NBA Finals was on tape delay!
For the people that do not understand, there was no NBA League Pass. There was no TNT, ESPN or Fox Sports airing NBA basketball. The games were played after the 11:00 news! It is widely known that Magic Johnson and his rivalry with Larry Bird saved the NBA and set the course for the excitement fans enjoy today. Magic Johnson is the orchestrator to a playing style that LeBron’s team is still trying to figure out now!
How about Kobe Bryant?
I mean he played 20 years and has two jerseys retired. He has a mentality that is now considered sports psychology. Oh by the way…Kobe won 5 rings too!
Honorable mentions…
Eligin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West.
As for Isiah Thomas…
He has gone on record saying that LeBron James is a better player than Michael Jordan on numerous occasions. If you can look up Scottie Pippen’s rebuttal to that claim, it is worth the time to look. But for Thomas to actually come out and critique LeBron James, that’s really saying something.
We have heard comments from LeBron James, Michael Jordan and former players. But the real question is why?