One of the biggest debates in basketball is who is the greatest player of all-time. As of right now, there are two players at the top of this debate: Michael Jordan and LeBron James. The popular opinion dictates that Jordan is the GOAT and that James has been chasing him for years. It seems like much of this debate is a generational divide. Younger people see LeBron as the GOAT while the older crowd is quick to say MJ. Regardless, it's a debate that persists to this day and on Wednesday, Stephen A. Smith gave his thoughts on the matter.
In the video below, Smith goes on to say that LeBron will never surpass Michael Jordan and it all has to do with his killer instinct and playoff performances during the early part of his career. One of Smith's biggest critiques on LeBron's career is his performance against the Dallas Mavericks in 2011.
On top of all these criticisms, Smith believes James lacked the intensity to put teams away when he first started. As Max Kellerman explained later in the video, Smith was using LeBron's "journey" against him. Smith's opinion here is nothing new although it's interesting to see the arguments framed in such a way.
What do you think of what Smith had to say? Is he right or is LeBron the real GOAT?