“He Belonged Above Michael Jordan”: Stephen A. Smith Clarifies the Condition For LeBron James to be Considered the GOAT

The LeBron James–Stephen Curry showdown is the biggest playoffs series of the last few seasons. Both the stars are at the point in their career where they have nothing left to prove but make a claim to the title of the greatest to ever play. This ongoing series is especially important in that sense. Whichever of them wins his 5th Championship first will perhaps leave their rival in the dust. Stephen A. Smith, however, believes there is more at stake for James. The ESPN Analyst, while on his show First Take, suggested that James will become a credible challenger to Michael Jordan‘s GOAT status.

With the Lakers bagging the 4th game, the momentum is without a doubt in their favor. The Warriors suffered a devastating loss and the Steph has faced the brunt of criticism.

His poor showing in game 4 has opened him up to criticism from every analyst in the country. In fact, Lakers’ win has further solidified LeBron’s legacy. If the 38-year-old wins this series, and the championship, a lot more haters will convert and support James’ case over MJ.

Stephen A. Smith accepts LeBron James will become comparable to Michael Jordan

In the latest episode of First Take, while talking to the likes of JJ Redick, Stephen A. openly declared that as things stand now, James wasn’t better than Jordan in his opinion. He also claimed that he was offended when people considered LeBron to be the better of the two.

However, Smith added a condition to this take. He stated that if LeBron James were to win his 5th title, he would begin to take the comparisons between the Lakers superstar and Bulls legend more seriously.

Stephen A. clarified that even if James did win the 5th championship, he would personally always rank him below Michael. But Smith also confessed he would respect the opinion of those who believed King James to be the GOAT.

Stephen A. Smith: “I will acknowledge that I have found it insulting for anybody to think that he belongs above Michael Jordan. If he would’ve win a 5th title this year, I would no longer feel insulted by that discussion. I would have to concede that ‘yeah, I still ain’t putting him above Jordan but I understand.'”

If LeBron wins a fifth NBA title, @stephenasmith says “it would warrant a discussion” of passing MJ on the basketball Mount Rushmore 👀 pic.twitter.com/YR3tuBkCpu

— First Take (@FirstTake) May 9, 2023

Stephen A then went on to explain how this was one of the greatest accomplishments of LeBron’s career. He overcame the worst adversities to reach this point and Smith is cognizant of the importance of overcoming this challenge.

LeBron can quite possibly win his 5th

The Lakers looked and acted like a championship-bound team until now. They are up against one of the craftiest offenses in the league but have managed to still stay on top. The comfortable 3-1 lead against Stephen Curry’s squad only proves how impressive the Lakers are right now.

If the Gold and Purples can continue to put up such dominant performances, especially in regard to defense, they can overcome any team. The versatility of the Warriors squad is likely the best in the league and this defense has withstood even that. Who says they can’t overcome the Nuggets or Celtics or Miami?