Who are you taking in the ‘greatest basketball player of all time’ debate? Air Jordan? The Black Mamba? LeBron James?
Shaquille O’Neal, a great and dominant player in his own right, tossed his hat into the debate. In a podcast discussion with former Miami Heat guard Mario Chalmers, Shaq pointed out that two of the three players had an intangible that the other did not.
Namely, they could intimidate their opponents.
“I’ve heard players say, including myself, ‘I feared Mike.’ I’ve heard players in your generation say, ‘I feared Kobe.’ I never really heard any players say they fear LeBron,” O’Neal said.
Shaq says he never heard a player say they feared LeBron James
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) March 13, 2024
"I've heard players say, including myself, 'I feared [Michael Jordan].' I've heard players in [Mario Chalmers's] generation say they feared Kobe. I've never really heard any player say they feared LeBron."
(🎥… pic.twitter.com/nTObkiGKmP
Does Anybody Fear LeBron James?
My understanding is that when told about Shaq’s comments, LeBron James immediately flopped and then called a referee over to have the Big Diesel thrown out of the studio.
I kid. I kid because I care.
That said Chalmers made the same assertion last year and, as he said, got “killed” for it. Chalmers was a teammate of Lebron’s, a role player in that first ‘Super Team’ that won NBA championships in 2012 and 2013.
“Nobody fears Bron,” Chalmers told Playmaker HQ. “Nobody’s like, ‘Damn, I gotta go play against Bron tonight.’ Nobody said that.”
“I don’t know why, because I seen people be scared when they actually line up to him, but they’re not scared thinking about that matchup.”
“Nobody fears LeBron” – @mchalmers15 😳
— Playmaker (@playmaker) March 18, 2023
Check out more of our exclusive interview with Mario Chalmers: https://t.co/JKHxbCCYPq pic.twitter.com/778diZFxK8
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LeBron Thinks He’s The Best
Some people argue that Michael Jordan is the greatest of all time due to his six NBA championships, five MVP awards, and numerous scoring titles.
Others believe that Kobe Bryant was a more skilled player, particularly in his ability to score and make clutch shots.
When you faced either of those men, you marked it on the calendar. And then you worried about it for weeks.
Jordan and Kobe also played in an era when the NBA actually had this thing called defense.
LeBron is an all-time great player to be sure. His versatility, all-around skills, and longevity, as he is still playing at a high level in 2024, are remarkable.
In this author’s view, however, he’d have a tough time cracking the top 10. Jordan, Bryant, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, Shaquille O’Neal himself, Bill Russell, Oscar Robertson, Julius Erving.
You’re going to put LeBron ahead of them? Nah, bro. Especially when he’s the most Charmin-soft person on that list.
Lebron “King Flop” James pic.twitter.com/wi5uLDYxbH
— NYKnicksPodcast (@NYKnicksPodcast) May 19, 2023
I’m sure many people will disagree with that take. I can respect that. You’d be wrong, but I respect it.
Do you know who else disagrees? LeBron James. The man with a “Chosen 1″ plastered across his back.
“I feel like I’m the best basketball player that ever played the game,” he said as he was chasing the scoring title last year.
