As fun as it is to listen to or engage in NBA GOAT conversations, it’s undeniable that the debate has lost its gravity over the last few years. The 78-year-long legacy discussion has been diluted by the most casual takes and is now centered mainly around two players, Michael Jordan and LeBron James. Charles Barkley has had enough of it and believes that a legend like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is always disrespected in these conversations.
Advertisement
On a recent episode of The Steam Room, Chuck gave a shoutout to The Captain, saluting his greatness. He also called out the media personalities on television for excluding him from the GOAT conversations after everything he has done for the game.
Barkley said, “These fools on television always talking about ‘Who’s the greatest basketball player ever’ between Michael, LeBron, Kobe, and things like that. Kareem should be in that conversation.”
Barkley recently got to spend some time with the six-time NBA Champion while shooting for Capital One.
During his recent conversations, Chuck was reminded of the Lakers legend’s greatness. He said that he has nothing but great “admiration and respect” for Abdul-Jabbar. Outside of the basketball world, he is an even better human being and a leader who has done so much good for society.
In the Chuckster’s words, “The leader he was and always has been in the community, I just want to acknowledge that publicly.”
Barkley even compared Abdul-Jabbar to the late, great Jackie Robinson. He said that Cap and the late great Bill Russell are the basketball world equivalent of the baseball legend.
Chuck added that he’d appreciate it if the “lightweight reporters” do their job properly and always give a nod in the GOAT debate to the owner of one of the greatest careers in basketball history.
Barkley has always rooted for Kareem
When Chuck was on the Jennifer Hudson Show a while ago, he was asked by the host, “Who is the GOAT…LeBron or MJ?” His first response was, “Well, you’ve got to put Kareem in there.”
The short segment outlined the biggest problem with the GOAT debate. People often fail to acknowledge that without the pioneers, the league wouldn’t have become what it is today.
Barkley said, “I think that’s a really unfair question…You have to go from generation to generation.”
However, Barkley added that he can freely speak about the greatest player from his era, because he was on the floor, rubbing shoulders with him. He said, “I got drafted with Michael, played my entire career with Michael. He’s the best I ever played against.”
Sir Charles explained that since he never played against LeBron, he can’t truly assess his greatness as a player.
