"I'm a fan of players that stick with one franchise" - Vlade Divac gets honest about why LeBron James isn't in his Top 10 - United States News Beep

In recent years, the broader NBA fanbase has largely reached a consensus that the debate over the greatest of all time has narrowed down to just two names: Michael Jordan and LeBron James.

Basketball history gets forgotten quickly in this league, and while everyone is already shouting from the rooftops that Victor Wembanyama will soon surpass them both, icons like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, and Wilt Chamberlain are being left out of the conversation.

Yet, if you ask Vlade Divac, he will use every opportunity to emphasize why his former teammate is the greatest to ever step foot on an NBA court, highlighting the direct impact that player had on his own career.

“I played with Magic. Let me tell you what he does. I would probably be [a mediocre] NBA player. He made me a Hall of Famer. He makes everybody on the floor better, and that’s… you don’t see that. And that’s the quality that… you can’t teach. Like Nikola Jokic. He makes everybody on the Nuggets team much better just because he’s present. That’s Magic,” Divac said.

For Divac, everything revolves around loyalty

Nikola Jokic‘s name has also entered these elite conversations in recent years, but because of the lack of Larry O’Brien trophies, fans have united around the belief that the four-time NBA champion, with everything he is pulling off in the twilight of his career, has absolutely caught up to the Chicago Bulls icon.

Still, as a true student of the game, Divac admits that the Los Angeles Lakers forward cannot even crack his personal Top 10 list. This comes despite his immense admiration for everything LeBron has accomplished over his 23-year career — a career with no end in sight, given the elite level he continues to display.

“What I like about LeBron and what I like about Luka being on the Lakers, he can learn what LeBron does with his body and how he takes care of [it]. So, you know, you gotta give him respect, but I’m a fan of players that stick with one franchise,” Divac explained.

While Vlade himself suited up for three different franchises over his 16-year NBA journey, it was never by his own choice. The Purple & Gold franchise traded him to the Charlotte Hornets specifically to clear the deck for a rookie named Kobe Bryant.

The move devastated Divac to the point where he seriously considered blocking the trade and retiring. However, with the benefit of hindsight, he realized Jerry West was simply light-years ahead of his time. Bryant went on to spend the next 20 years in Southern California, hanging five championship banners and becoming the ultimate embodiment of franchise loyalty.

All of that has now led Divac to admit that time proved the Lakers right.

“Time goes by. And I would trade myself for Kobe Bryant,” he declared. “I’d trade the entire team for Kobe.”

Blasphemy

James, on the other hand, never possessed that specific strain of loyalty. The moment he realized the Cleveland Cavalierswould likely never take him to the promised land, he decided to take his talents to South Beach to form a superteam with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

That single decision permanently disqualified him in the eyes of many traditional basketball fans, the same fans who conveniently forgot that Kobe tried to pull the same power move when he realized the Lakers’ front office couldn’t build a title-contender around him.

At the end of the day, while the Serbian legend’s perspective is grounded in a beautiful, sentimental view of sports, it doesn’t quite hold up as an exact science when measuring a legacy. Romance is great, but the numbers are unarguable, and they clearly validate a player’s impact.

When it comes to Bron, he backs up his case not just with historic statistics and a mountain of accolades, but with an unprecedented longevity that has forced people to accept him as the true GOAT.

So, while we can appreciate Divac’s old-school principles, claiming James isn’t a Top 10 player of all time borders on absolute basketball blasphemy.

This story was originally published by Basketball Network on May 25, 2026, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

“I’m a fan of players that stick with one franchise” – Vlade Divac gets honest about why LeBron James isn’t in his Top 10

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