Charles Barkley puts LeBron behind Mike and Kobe because he’s ‘nice’ while Jordan and Bryant were ‘mean’

NBA legend Charles Barkley often tries to stay away from the G.O.A.T. (greatest of all time) debate, but he recently made some fascinating comments on NBA icons LeBron James, Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.

Barkley indicated that he has James behind Jordan and Bryant, seemingly because James is a “nice guy,” something that “nobody ever said” about the other two NBA legends in question.

Everyone uses different criteria to form their opinions on the NBA’s all-time greats, and for Barkley, it appears that persona matters a lot.

With that being the case, one has to wonder if Barkley would still view James in that light regardless of what the 40-year-old’s resume looked like. For example, James has four MVP awards and four NBA titles, but if he had a couple more of each, one can only speculate as to whether Barkley would still see James’ persona as a reason to have him behind Jordan and Bryant.

Regardless, there’s no doubt that James has assembled one of the best resumes in NBA history, and he’s still adding to it. It’s unclear how much time the all-time leading scorer has left in the NBA, but he’s still going strong in his 22nd season.

As for Jordan and Bryant, their resumes are already set in stone and have been since they retired from the league in 2003 and 2016, respectively. They are often mentioned in the G.O.A.T. debate, though Jordan’s name is typically more involved in those discussions than Bryant’s.

While some may disagree with Barkley’s comments, there’s no denying that he’s qualified to speak on the topic, as he had a wonderful career himself. He earned a number of accolades during his time in the league, including one MVP award, and is now a Hall of Famer.

He also played in an era where opposing players might have been a bit less friendly with one another, which could be a contributing factor when it comes to his take on James. Except for one game, Barkley’s entire NBA career came in the 1980s and 1990s. His final game came in 2000.