The Michael Jordan versus LeBron James GOAT conversation has dominated sports talk for years, but Charles Barkley is done with it. The Hall of Famer told reporters this week that the media needs to stop dragging Jordan’s name into every discussion about LeBron.
“There’s a lot of great players in the NBA, but these fools spend all their time like comparing… Like Michael Jordan is dead,” Barkley said. “He’s been retired forever. These fools spend all their time comparing him to LeBron. I’m like ‘Why?’ Michael Jordan has been dead for 20-something years. Let’s let LeBron be LeBron.”
Barkley’s frustration is that the conversation takes away from the game today.
While he acknowledges Jordan’s unmatched greatness during his era, Barkley believes LeBron should be measured against players he actually shared the court with.
“We’re starting to do this stupid s—t in golf now -‘Man, Scottie Scheffler is just as good as Tiger.’ I’m like ‘Damn, y’all.’ We can’t appreciate LeBron’s greatness or Steph Curry’s greatness,” Barkley added. “We got to compare him to a guy that’s been dead for 20 years. I’m like, ‘Michael Jordan is great, but so is LeBron. So is Kobe. So is Steph. So is Joker.'”
Interestingly, Jordan himself has shared a similar view in the past.
“First of all, you’re never going to say ‘who’s the greatest of all-time’ – I think that’s more for PR and more for selling stories and getting hype,” Jordan said.
“Jack and Tiger never played against each other, never played in the same tournament, never played with the same equipment, they never played with the same length of golf course,” MJ explained. “I never played against Wilt Chamberlain, I never played against Jerry West. To now say that one’s greater than the other is being a little bit unfair. I won six championships. Bill Russell won 11. Does that make Russell better than me? Or make me better than him? No! ‘Cause we played in different eras. So when you try to equate who’s the greatest of all-time, it’s an unfair parallel. It’s an unfair choice
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