LeBron James has been at the centre of the NBA’s greatest of all time debate for years, and that conversation is not fading.
Some fans and analysts now have him ahead of Michael Jordan, pointing to his longevity, record-breaking career and all-round influence. Others still keep Jordan at the top, often citing peak dominance and Finals record.
Among those who refuse to place James in the top two, or even the top five, are former players from past generations. Isiah Thomas, the Detroit Pistons great who led the Bad Boys to back-to-back titles, disagrees with that view.
Isiah Thomas calls out NBA legends who leave LeBron James out of top five
Thomas thinks the case for James is now too strong to ignore. The Lakers star is the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, a four-time champion, a four-time Finals MVP and a four-time regular-season MVP.
He has also earned a record 22 All-Star selections and more All-NBA honours than anyone else in history. That is why Thomas sees any top-five list without LeBron as being about more than basketball analysis.
“Guys are jealous, they get envious. You all bring them on the show. Then they want to talk about what they did or what somebody else did, and then they intentionally ignore the obvious, right?” he said on the “Run It Back” show.
“And when you intentionally ignore the obvious, then it has to come back to some jealousy or envy or just some straight up b——. Now, this man got every basketball record in the books and he ain’t in your top five; you full of s—.”
Thomas’ point is clear. Debating Jordan and a few other superstars against James is one thing, but leaving LeBron out of the very top tier altogether is much harder to justify.
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