'LeBron James Is Better Than Kevin Durant', Says Charles Barkley
NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley is widely known for his brash opinions on basketball and other topics. On Wednesday, Barkley revealed his list of the best players of all-time, which included superstar LeBron James among others.
"LeBron James is better than Kevin Durant and neither one of them is as good as Michael,” Barkley suggested during an appearance on NBC-affiliated sports show "CSN Philly."
"LeBron James is better than Kevin Durant...and neither one of them is as good as Michael."
— CSN Philly (@CSNPhilly) September 6, 2017
Agree with Charles Barkley's list? pic.twitter.com/5bCHoIrvPp
The TNT sportscaster ranked James at No. 7 on his all-time greats list. He claimed that James is a better player than Durant but added that Hall of Famer Michael Jordan, who he ranked at No. 1, was still ahead of James and Durant. Barkley ranked himself as No. 20 on his list and added that other lists had him ranked higher.
This wasn’t the first time Barkley had James behind the greats who played in the 90s. During an "Inside the NBA" media event last year, Barkley claimed that James was below former Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant and former San Antonio Spurs star Tim Duncan.
About lebron kobe and Duncan pic.twitter.com/C7uf0D7c4x
— Victoria (@CountOnVic) October 18, 2016
"LeBron's right there," Barkley said during the media event. "I don't understand why ya'll are in such a hurry to move him past Tim Duncan and Kobe (Bryant). Now if he wins a couple more championships, I might move him past Kobe and Tim Duncan.
"You guys are always talking about championships - Kobe and Tim got five, LeBron's got three. But all of a sudden, because those guys are retired, ya'll want to change the narrative. Ya'll the ones talking about rings."
Barkley echoed his feelings during an appearance last year on 94WIP's "Morning Show" with Howard Eskin on Aug. 26 when asked about James' aspiration to surpass Jordan.
"The only problem I have with it, I don't know how he just passes Kobe Bryant and Tim Duncan," Barkley told Eskin.
In a Sports Illustrated feature last year, James said he admired Jordan as a basketball player. He mentioned that he challenged himself to catch up to Jordan’s accomplishments.
"My motivation is this ghost I’m chasing. The ghost played in Chicago," James told the publication.
James added that his career is different compared to Jordan’s. The Cleveland Cavaliers star played on two different teams (Miami Heat from 2010-2014) and has won three championships so far — two with the Cavaliers and one with the Heat. Jordan also played on two teams, (Washington Wizards from 2001-2003) but won six NBA championships with the Bulls.
"My career is totally different than Michael Jordan’s," he told Sports Illustrated. "What I’ve gone through is totally different than what he went through. What he did was unbelievable, and I watched it unfold. I looked up to him so much. I think it’s cool to put myself in position to be one of those great players, but if I can ever put myself in position to be the greatest player, that would be something extraordinary."
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