Rich Paul, one of the most popular sports agents in the business is the CEO and founder of Klutch Sports Group, which represents a wide range of athletes, including Anthony Davis, Draymond Green, and LeBron James. So, it’s safe to say that Paul knows a thing or two about greatness, and his take on it is rather interesting.
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In the Game Over podcast, Paul was asked about his top three NBA players of all time. Naturally, the three most common candidates — LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, and Michael Jordan — came up.
Paul began by saying that whenever someone claims one is clearly above the other two, he feels compelled to defend the opposing players. However, he ultimately admitted that if he were starting a franchise, there would be no question about who he would choose.
“If I’m starting a basketball team, I’m taking LeBron #1 overall. There’s no ifs, ands, or buts about it,” Paul shared.
Given that he is his agent, it wasn’t terribly surprising to hear Paul choose LeBron over the others. However, he adamantly claimed that it wasn’t a biased decision. He simply believes LeBron would be the best player to build a team around.
Rich Paul says he wants MJ taking the last shot over LeBron
“If I want the single last shot, I’m taking Michael Jordan. No question about it.”
(Via Game Over Podcast / h/t @HeatCulture13 )
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) December 24, 2025
However, when it comes to clutch shots, Paul would be taking another GOAT. “If I want the single, last shot, I’m taking Michael Jordan. No question about it,” Paul said.
Many may tend to agree with Paul on this take. Interestingly, however, with the available data, LeBron has a significantly higher career field goal percentage in clutch situations compared to Jordan. In his career, he has shot 52% in said situations, while Jordan shot a respectable 46%.
The big catch with this data is that it only tracks Jordan’s final four seasons in the league. So, he may have had a higher percentage earlier in his career. We may never truly know what that number is unless someone digs through the archives and watches every Jordan game to figure it out.
But what about Kobe? Where does Paul rank the Black Mamba among the three? He is a player who often gets overlooked in the debate between Jordan and LeBron.
“I have Kobe ranked in my Top 3,” Paul stated. It’s the exact thought process that many others have. The order goes either LeBron or Jordan, but Kobe almost comes in third after them.
At the end of the day, though, as Paul said, one really can’t go wrong with any of the three. That’s why he likes to defend whoever gets left out of the debate when the topic comes up. It’s a good practice that other NBA fans should try the next time the opportunity arises. Maybe they’ll start to see things from the other side’s perspective and gain more respect for the player they’re discounting.
