Latest news with #GOATdebate
Yahoo
a day ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
"I'm just going to slap you right on the spot" - Charles Barkley's threat for everyone who had LeBron James ahead of Michael Jordan in the GOAT debate in 2017
"I'm just going to slap you right on the spot" - Charles Barkley's threat for everyone who had LeBron James ahead of Michael Jordan in the GOAT debate in 2017 originally appeared on Basketball Network. Right after the Golden State Warriors swept LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers back in the 2017 Finals, TNT's "Inside the NBA" host and a Hall of Famer, Charles Barkley, wanted to remind the public once again that James was and never will be on the level of Michael Jordan. Barkley, who was drafted in the same year as Jordan in 1984, took his anger out on the media because he felt that they were the biggest reasons why the GOAT debate exists in the first place. "I'm just going to say this. Any media person that I see in person for the rest of my life, who try to tell me that LeBron James is better than Michael Jordan or competes like Michael Jordan, I'm just going to slap the hell out of him right on the spot. Right on the damn spot, no question asked," said Barkley. Barkley on why Michael is the GOAT The biggest gripe that Sir Charles has always had with The King is his mentality, which is why he could never consider James on the same level as MJ and even Kobe Bryant. Besides that, Barkley also thinks MJ has achieved more than LBJ with less years under his belt. There's also the fact that Jordan never lost in the NBA Finals considering that he's been in it six times and pretty much ruled the '90s, contrary to James, who lost six out of the 10 Finals he competed in. Barkley also respects the fact that MJ never formed superteams or recruited fellow superstars to play with him. Despite getting whooped by the Detroit Bad Boy Pistons in the late 80s, His Airness found a way to solve them instead of forming a superteam that could finally get rid of Isiah Thomas and his squad. "That's the one thing that I admired about Michael," said Barkley. "He just kept getting bigger and stronger and like 'Nah!' And I played with some guys who like 'No, I'm not going in there,' and that's one reason I'm always for Michael. Like 'We're going in there, brother.' And he kept coming until he got stronger, got bigger and knocked that wall down."Barkley doesn't even have James in his top six For as much as Barkley respects the NBA's all-time scoring leader as both a basketball player and person, the former player doesn't have him ranked in his personal top five list. He thinks that James just hasn't achieved as much on and off the court, contrary to the legends that came before him and pioneered the path for this generation of players. "First of all, I don't know where that came from. I've always said LeBron on my list; he's number seven all-time," Chuck noted. "I got Wilt, Kareem, Bill Russell, Michael and Oscar. I got Kobe 6 and LeBron 7." That's a bold take by Barkley but at the end of the day, it's his opinion on the GOAT debate. The former undersized forward has always been a pro Jordan guy and even if they're no longer on talking terms, he still has MJ's back to this story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jul 18, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Hakeem Olajuwon on what separates Michael Jordan from LeBron James: "Jordan was a far more superior player in a very, very tough league"
Hakeem Olajuwon on what separates Michael Jordan from LeBron James: "Jordan was a far more superior player in a very, very tough league" originally appeared on Basketball Network. Hakeem Olajuwon did not sugarcoat his answer when asked to weigh in on the GOAT debate during a 2015 interview. Advertisement At that time, LeBron James was dominating the league after winning two championships and making four consecutive NBA Finals appearances with the Miami Heat. Being only 29 at the time — the same age when Michael Jordan recorded his first three-peat with the Chicago Bulls — people felt James could even match Jordan's six championships. But even if he did that, Olajuwon wouldn't put the two on the same level. "When people start comparing him with Jordan, then that's not a fair comparison. Jordan was a far more superior player in a very, very tough league, and very, very creative," the two-time NBA champion told CNBC's Worldwide Exchange. "That's not taking away anything from LeBron because he is a great player, but it is not a fair comparison because Jordan is a far superior player." Hakeem played against Mike and trained LeBron The Houston Rockets selected Olajuwon with the first pick in the 1984 NBA Draft. That same year, Jordan went third overall to the Bulls. Advertisement Hakeem played Michael 23 times during his NBA career, winning 13 of those matchups. Still, Jordan was great in their head-to-head games, averaging 30.8 points, 5.6 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 3.0 steals per contest. Meanwhile, Olajuwon retired after the 2001-02 season, two years before James jumped from high school to the NBA. However, he got to see his game firsthand when the latter flew to Houston to train with him during the summer of 2011. James not only wanted to learn Olajuwon's footwork and moves but also his championship mindset. "He was so determined," the legendary big man said. "That's number one. He was always saying, 'I'm here.' That pushes me. When somebody wants it so much and is so eager … wow. I was very happy because I knew I could help him…I could see when he left the ranch, his excitement was high and he was ready. "I thought, 'He has completed his game. He feels that. He believes that." Advertisement Related: "Once it goes in, it never comes back out" - Danny Ainge explains why Kevin McHale earned the most accurate nickname in NBA history A lot has changed since then James returned better than ever. He won three NBA championships in the next five seasons and was the back-to-back league MVP in 2012 and 2013. The third of three NBA titles was won in 2016 after he returned to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Since then, James has added a fourth NBA championship to his resume, the inaugural In-Season tournament championship and MVP, plus countless records that speak to his unmatched longevity in the league. Advertisement In 2023, he broke Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's all-time scoring record and continues to add to his total, as he prepares to enter his 23rd season in the Association. But while James may have even surpassed Jordan in terms of career achievements, that should not change Olajuwon's GOAT pick. For all of LeBron's greatness, most people, former players especially, still share Hakeem's view. Related: "Everybody say he is the greatest of all time. I always say what criteria are you using" - George Gervin on why he questions Michael Jordan's status as the GOAT This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Jul 13, 2025, where it first appeared.
