LeBron James has all the individual accolades necessary to be considered the greatest player in NBA history, but Charles Barkley believes there's one thing holding him back.
While on 97.5 The Fanatic's "Unfiltered with Ricky Bo and Bill Colarulo," the Hall of Famer argued that James is "too nice" to be the greatest of all time. That's something you couldn't say about Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, especially on the hardwood. They were known for being fierce competitors each and every night.
"The three best basketball players I’ve ever seen in order; Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James. And I’ll tell you guys the difference, nobody ever said Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant was a nice guy," Barkley said, via Awful Announcing. "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 continued, "Michael was dangerous. He wanted to win at all costs. He didn’t worry about friends. And Kobe was the same way. He didn’t care about his Laker teammates, him and Shaq fought all the time."
© Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images.
Where is LeBron heading?
According to ESPN insider Shams Charania, the Cavaliers, Heat and 76ers are the top suitors for James in free agency.
“When the Sixers got Jaylen Brown… [LeBron James is] taking their pitch really seriously,” Charania said. “I look at it, when I talk to teams now, as kind of a hierarchy of Cleveland, Miami, Philadelphia."
Brian Windhorst, on the other hand, has been saying Cleveland is the favorite to win these sweepstakes. He said if Max Strus gets traded soon that's be a hint that James is heading back home to Ohio.
“The vibe feels right with Cleveland, the vibe feels right with Miami, but it’s just a vibe, it’s not anything that he’s actually said publicly or anybody that I’ve talked to. The people that I’ve talked to are all basing it on vibes,” Windhorst said. “… If you see the Cavs move Max Strus, you will know that there’s some sort of action there.”
We'll see if James can have success next season and potentially win over Barkley's support as the G.O.A.T.
