{"id":726829,"date":"2026-06-10T06:39:16","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T06:39:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/726829\/"},"modified":"2026-06-10T06:39:16","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T06:39:16","slug":"lebron-james-names-himself-as-greatest-basketball-player-ever","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/726829\/","title":{"rendered":"LeBron James Names Himself as Greatest Basketball Player Ever"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\t\"LeBron\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers looks on during the game against the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center on April 24, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Kenneth Richmond\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

When it comes to the question of who is the greatest basketball player of all time, or GOAT if you will, Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> star forward LeBron James has frequently been mentioned alongside Chicago Bulls<\/a> legend Michael Jordan and several other of the game\u2019s greats.<\/p>\n

During a recent interview<\/a> with Time magazine, James was asked to weigh in on the debate himself, and he provided an expected answer.<\/p>\n

LeBron James is Taking Himself in the GOAT Debate\"Lakers<\/p>\n

GettyLeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers reacts to making a shot during the first half of Game One of the First Round of the NBA Western Conference Playoffs against the Houston Rockets<\/a> at Crypto.com Arena on April 18, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement.<\/p>\n

Unsurprisingly, James selected himself as the game\u2019s GOAT, though he contended that any other elite competitor in the same position would also pick themselves, which is probably true. After all, it\u2019s tough to imagine Jordan admitting that anyone was truly better than him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not taking nobody over me. There\u2019s no question. But I think Mike will say the same thing. Rest his soul, Kobe will say the same thing. Magic<\/a> will say the same thing. Bird will say the same thing. Shaq could say the same thing. The late great Wilt. Kareem,\u201d James said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think none of us are going to take somebody else. If there\u2019s a general manager and he\u2019s eyeballing all of us on a baseline, with the No. 1 pick, it\u2019s gonna be hard not to take me, champ.\u201d<\/p>\n

James is obviously entitled to his opinion, and there would be millions of others out there who would agree with him. Given the success that he\u2019s enjoyed combined with the impact that he\u2019s had on the game, he absolutely has a case as the greatest of all time.<\/p>\n

LeBron James Provides Retirement Update\"LeBron<\/p>\n

GettyLOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA \u2013 FEBRUARY 12: LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers smiles towards the Dallas Mavericks<\/a> bench in the second half at Crypto.com Arena on February 12, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Wally Skalij\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

In the same interview, James, 41, provided some insight into how he will decide when to call it a career and hang up his signature Nikes. James, who will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason, has already played an NBA-record 23 seasons in the league.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s up to the mind,\u201d James said. \u201cWhere the mind goes, the body will lay. When I\u2019m not in love with getting to the arenas on game days five hours before to start my preparation, if I\u2019m out of love with getting to practice 2\u00bd hours beforehand, then I know I\u2019ll be done. Because then I\u2019m going to start cheating the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Given how impactful he still is as a player, it would be somewhat surprising if James walked away at this point. But, the possibility can\u2019t be ruled out.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\tMichael Kaskey-Blomain<\/a> Michael Kaskey-Blomain is an experienced sports media member covering the NBA and NFL for Heavy. He has been in the industry for well over a decade with previous stops including the Philadelphia Inquirer and CBS Sports. Michael also serves as a Philadelphia 76ers reporter and insider for ESPN 97.3 and an NBA and NFL contributor for The Sporting News. More about Michael Kaskey-Blomain<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers looks on during the game against the Houston Rockets…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":726830,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[574],"tags":[64,63,726,85],"class_list":["post-726829","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-basketball","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-basketball","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/726829","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=726829"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/726829\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/726830"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=726829"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=726829"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=726829"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}