LeBron James is one of the greatest basketball players ever, but Charles Barkley believes there’s one thing that kept him from being the greatest.
Barkley joined Unfiltered with Ricky Bo and Bill Colarulo on Philadelphia’s 97.5 The Fanatic this week to discuss the NBA offseason. And while projecting where James should play next season, Barkley insisted he will never catch Michael Jordan or even Kobe Bryant in the GOAT debate. But it’s not mental toughness or ring chasing keeping James from garnering the GOAT title, Barkley believes it’s that he’s too nice.
“The three best basketball players I’ve ever seen in order; Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James,” Barkley said. “And I’ll tell you guys the difference, 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. Everybody likes LeBron, he’s a nice man. He’s a great, great basketball player. But them other two guys, they were fanatics. They were dangerous.”
Barkley went on to explain that Jordan and Bryant didn’t care about teaming up with friends or being friends with their teammates, they just wanted to win.
“Michael was dangerous. He wanted to win at all costs. He didn’t worry about friends. And Kobe was the same way,” Barkley continued. “He didn’t care about his Laker teammates, him and Shaq fought all the time.”
LeBron James is a four-time league MVP, a four-time champion and Finals MVP. He’s a 22-time All-Star, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, and the longest-tenured face of the league. But if he wasn’t so gosh darn nice, maybe LeBron James would have had a chance at making a case for being considered the best to ever do it.
About Brandon Contes
Brandon Contes is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and The Comeback. He previously helped carve the sports vertical for Mediaite and spent more than three years with Barrett Sports Media. Send tips/comments/complaints to bcontes@thecomeback.com