Comparing today’s stars to all-time greats is a favorite pastime for NBA analysts, and three names that always dominate the conversation are Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James. Charles Barkley chose to bring up Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in that discussion. According to the Round Mound of Rebound, SGA doesn’t quite have the same killer instinct that MJ or Kobe possessed. In the process, LeBron was also scrutinized.
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The greatness of ‘The King’ cannot be denied. Few players have dominated the NBA the way he has for more than 20 years. But when it comes to competitiveness and that relentless fire, James doesn’t quite measure up to Bryant or Jordan. Barkley feels that Bron is too much of a “nice guy”.
Barkley, in a conversation on Bill Simmons‘ podcast, hailed the trio as the best players he’s seen in his generation. But pointed out the stark difference between them, also bringing in Gilgeous-Alexander, the 2024/25 season MVP, into the conversation. Now we’ll know who to compare the Canadian directly to.
“Michael and Kobe are dangerous, they’ll kill your a**. LeBron’s a nice guy, and that’s not a knock. He’s still great, great, great, but he’s a nice guy,” Barkley began. As he reiterated, it’s not an invitation for those idolizing MJ or Bryant to be bad people. They were just ruthless competitors on court, who rarely let up a smile in front of teammates, let alone rivals.
“The one thing about OKC, even though I think that Shai is a great, great player, he, to me, is more like LeBron, he’s a really nice guy,” the 76ers legend continued. “He’s not out there trying to kill you. And I think that’s the difference…”
Now, measuring greatness doesn’t have a specific metric. Those who believe that becoming the most decorated star in the league’s history can be achieved by shaking hands and being respectful may consider Bron the GOAT. It’s just that Jordan and Kobe — along with their millions of fans — thought differently.
In terms of on-court success, though, there’s little to separate the three. Their personal accolades may not match exactly in number, but all are former league MVPs, multiple-time NBA champions, and boast more All-Star appearances than you can count on two hands.
SGA doesn’t need to be like Jordan or Kobe and focus on humiliating opponents to become one of the best ever. The Oklahoma City Thunder star can follow in LeBron’s footsteps, play the nice guy, and still find his way into the Hall of Fame.
