STEPHEN A. Smith revealed a strong opinion regarding the NBA GOAT conversation which is usually between Michael Jordan and LeBron James.
The 56-year-old Smith appeared on Thursday’s edition of First Take and believes the Los Angeles Lakers icon James can change the greatest basketball player of all time narrative in this year’s playoffs.
First Take star Stephen A. Smith made a claim concerning LeBron James and his path to possibly being the GOAT of basketball over Michael JordanCredit: Twitter/FirstTake
Smith shared his opinion as James and the No. 7 seed Los Angeles Lakers will have the tough task of going up against the No. 2 seed Denver Nuggets in the first round of the NBA playoffsCredit: Getty
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The 39-year-old LeBron and the Lakers will be facing the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the NBA playoffs.
Denver has won eight straight games against Los Angeles as four of those occurred in last season’s Western Conference Finals sweep.
The Nikola Jokic-led Nuggets went on to win the NBA Finals.
This weekend, the No. 7 seed Lakers will square up against the No. 2 seed Denver.
On First Take, the panel discussed the possibility of James leading Los Angeles to an upset series win.
In the past, Stephen A. has shared the belief of the six-time NBA Finals MVP Jordan being the GOAT of basketball.
While the fiery personality continues to have the same opinion, he did reveаl that there’s an argument to be made about LeBron being the GOAT if the Lakers end up winning the NBA Finals in 2024.
“If LeBron James beats Denver and marches forward to ultimately win another chip, I don’t know how strong my argument is going to be on behalf of Jordan moving forward,” Smith said.
If James were to win the championship this season, it would be his fifth career Larry O’Brien trophy.
Still, NBA fans had mixed feelings about Stephen A.’s opinion on X, formerly Twitter.
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“How is this still an argument? LeBron is the greatest basketball player of all time,” one fan commented.
“The fact y’all are still searching for arguments to be able to crown Bron over guy who’s career has been over for over 20 years tells you who the real GOAT is,” another fan stated.
“LeBron’s already the goat,” a third fan wrote.
James is currently in his 21st season in the NBA.
James averaged 25.7 points per game in the 2023-24 campaignCredit: Getty
The Lakers recorded 47 wins in the regular season.
James posted a 25.7 points per game average while shooting 54 percent from the floor.
On Tuesday, Los Angeles faced the New Orleans Pelicans in the play-in tournament.
The Lakers beаt the Pelicans 110-106 as LeBron scored 23 points along with nine rebounds and nine assists.
Los Angeles enters their first-round playoff matchup having won 12 of their last 15 contests.
