Former NBA legends regularly love to have their say on who the greatest players of all time are. A similar situation occurred for Charles Barkley during an All The Smoke podcast appearance, a few months ago in February. Asked about the current players who were in his top 10, Chuck included only LeBron James on his list outright. The controversial selection saw him claim that even Stephen Curry needed to win another championship in order to feature in his top-10 list.
Never afraid to air his opinions, Charles Barkley regularly makes controversial claims about everything NBA. One of the most sought-after NBA analysts around, Barkley is himself a Hall of Famer and a bonafide legend who has been associated with the NBA since 1984.
Charles Barkley includes only LeBron James in his top-10 of all time
Barkley was asked whether any of the current players would make it in his top 10 of all time. Most fans will include the likes of Stephen Curry and LeBron James, and might make arguments on the basis of talent for some other modern stars.
However, Chuck is different and claims that even Steph was only knocking on the door to be included in his top 10. Claiming that he needs to win at least one more championship, Barkley was slightly more gracious towards LeBron James:
“Steph is knocking on the door. If Steph wins one more, it will be hard to not put him in the top-10. He (LeBron) is 7, after Kobe, I had an arguemtn with a dude. He is the biggest LeBron fan in the world. I didn’t put Steve Nash ahead of LeBron, no disrespect. I put Kobe Bryant, and I love LeBRon. But the difference is in my opinion, Michael [Jordan] and Kobe [Bryant] will kill you. LeBron is a nice guy. Nobody ever says Kobe and Michael are nice guys. There is nothing wrong in that. But LeBron, he is just a nice man, I got him at 7.”
Barkley claimed that both Kobe and Michael Jordan had a killer instinct. He gave this as the reason why he included them both above LeBron. James on the other hand, was a “nice guy.”
While LeBron is often considered to be the NBA GOAT, Stephen Curry is easily the best shooter of all time. Chuck’s reluctance to include the two might have something to do with the fondness he has for his own NBA era.
Barkley once threatened violence for equating LeBron James with Michael Jordan
Chuck did not include LeBron in his top 5. Seemingly, there is now no doubt that he doesn’t consider him one of the GOATs. That is a title he has reserved for Michael Jordan.
Barkley even went as far as claiming that he would “hit” media people who tried to equate the two. James might have one over MJ when it comes to longevity and range of game.
However, MJ was a born winner and won the title 6 times out of his 15 seasons. Regardless, to go as far as threatening violence against people who rate LeBron might be a little too much.
