The debate between Michael Jordan and LeBron James is eternal, but some members of His Airness camp know how to recognize the greatness of his rival. In this case, a pro-MJ Hall of Famer publicly praised the wingman recently, explaining that his career was unique in history.
Whether it’s Michael Jordan or LeBron James, there is no shortage of arguments to make one of them the best player in history. For the moment, it seems that more people are still leaning in favor of the back, even among current players. We can for example mention Stephen Curry who gave him his vote some time ago. A strong support, even if the Chicagoan does not necessarily like to talk about this subject.
Among those who support the six-time Bulls champion, we also find Charles Barkley who has faced him many times in the 80s and 90s. An analyst for TNT for more than 20 years now, he has also been able to follow L-Train’s career from the beginning. And as he explained to Draymond Green recently, the consistency displayed by the wing is for him beyond measure. He does not hesitate to call it unique in the world of sports:
Charles Barkley highlights LeBron’s crazy longevity
Let me tell you something, I’m a MJ fan, I’ll say it clearly. But I think what LeBron has accomplished is probably the greatest story in sports. First of all, if you look at Kobe, Kevin Garnett, guys like that, they were not good players when they came into the NBA.
LeBron is the only player, in the 40 years I’ve been in the NBA, who has been a great player from day one. And besides him becoming one of the best players of all time, he’s never been in trouble. Especially in this constant news cycle with social media, for him to be as strong as he is from his rookie year to where he is now, I think that’s one of the greatest stories in the history of sports
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That’s saying a lot from the Chuckster, and it’s hard to argue with him on this one, as the Chosen One’s consistency at the highest level is simply unprecedented. No other player in history has scored more than 25 points per game at age 37, and he’s even shooting over 29 in 2021-22. His numbers have hardly ever changed in nearly 20 years on the floor… and as Sir Charles reminds us, he has done it by avoiding the pots and pans and legal troubles all along, which is not given to everyone.
