Skip Bayless ranks LeBron James as the 9th best NBA player of all time, sparking debate with Stephen A. Smith, who places him at No. 2. The article details the eight players Bayless believes are better than James.
Key points
Skip Bayless ranks LeBron James as the 9th best NBA player.
Stephen A. Smith ranks LeBron James as the 2nd best NBA player.
Bayless and Smith agree on Michael Jordan being the greatest player.
The ranking sparked a debate on ESPN's 'First Take.'
"It's almost so blasphemous I don't know if you should be banned from television."
That's what Stephen A. Smith told Skip Bayless on ESPN's "First Take" after finding out that he ranked LeBron James as the 9th-best NBA player ever. Safe to say the day these two reunited for a series of debates, superlatives and disagreement did not take long to begin.
While the two agreed that Michael Jordan was the greatest player of all-time, the rest of their top 10 differed, in particular, to LeBron James. Stephen A. Smith had James at No. 2, Bayless at No. 9. But which eight players did Bayless put ahead of James?
The two primarily disagreed on this ranking over the value of playoff success as opposed to ability. Smith prioritized ability and versatility on the court when compiling his list, while Bayless put a heavy emphasis on playoff performance and rings.
Smith also tried to refute Bayless' claim about James being a worse postseason performer, emphasizing that James has the record for most playoff buzzer beaters. Bayless argued that this was due in part to James' longer career compared to others on the list.
Q&A
Who are the eight players Skip Bayless ranks above LeBron James?
The article lists the eight players that Skip Bayless has ranked higher than LeBron James, but specific names are not provided in the excerpt.
What was Stephen A. Smith's reaction to Skip Bayless's ranking of LeBron James?
Stephen A. Smith expressed disbelief and called the ranking 'almost so blasphemous' during their debate on ESPN's 'First Take.'
Where does Skip Bayless rank LeBron James in his all-time NBA rankings?
Skip Bayless ranks LeBron James as the 9th best NBA player of all time.
What is the main disagreement between Skip Bayless and Stephen A. Smith regarding LeBron James?
The main disagreement is their rankings of LeBron James, with Bayless placing him at No. 9 and Smith at No. 2.
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Smith started by saying that there was no need to debate Jordan. With two iconic television broadcasters whose job it is to disagree, this was a refreshing case of agreement.
No. 2: Magic Johnson
"Five rings and the greatest winner-leader ever. And you've got him ranked below LeBron James? That's just wrong," Bayless said.
Bayless continued with an emphasis on a player's peak, and Johnson is no exception. In response, Smith focused on Johnson's lack of ability when compared with James.
"We know from an ability standpoint that he wasn't Lebron James," Smith said. "He couldn't score like LeBron, he couldn't defend like LeBron. That is a fact. Magic Johnson would tell you that."
No. 3: Shaquille O'Neal
Bayless began by describing how no one could keep up with Shaquille O'Neal, making him a massive threat on both ends in the NBA.
"For three years, he was the most dominant force on offense and defense I ever saw in my many years that go beyond your many years of covering this league," Bayless said.
Smith's disagreement with O'Neal largely centered around two factors: free throws and defense.
"There was a free-throw deficiency, and there was sometimes where there was an absence of defensive prowess," Smith said.
Smith went on to cite how James was selected to five NBA All-Defensive teams. Conversely, O'Neal only won that honor three times.
No. 4: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
In classic Bayless fashion, the first talking point about Abdul-Jabbar was his six rings. But Bayless didn't fall back on clutch factor as a crutch in this argument. Instead, he talked about ability and shot-making.
Bayless called Abdul-Jabbar's signature shot "the most unblockable, unstoppable shot that anybody ever shot, the sky hook."
As the topic of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar came around, Smith clarified that centers are hard to evaluate at all on these types of rankings.
"When we look at [centers], you almost want to take them out because you need assistance from other players in order to be effective," Smith said.
Bayless believed that Tim Duncan was better than James primarily for their performance against one another in the heat of the playoffs.
"[Duncan] would have six rings if not for Ray Allen saving LeBron's legacy, which should be 3-7 in the finals," Bayless argued.
Smith didn't entertain this playoff argument, pointing to James' versatility on the court as the factor that set him apart from someone like Duncan.
"Considering what LeBron James at 6'9" 260 [lbs] as a point forward and the versatility that he brings to the table, I'm still going to go with LeBron," Smith said.
What would the argument for Russell over James center around? Rings of course.
Bayless said that Russell "has 11 rings, including the last two as a player-coach."
While Smith began by reiterating how it's more challenging to judge centers on the list, he nonetheless doubled down that James is No. 2 because of his skills, whether his team wins or not.
"Resume, I got it. But I'm talking about ability, versatility."
Bayless made a similar argument for both Bryant and Bird. He posed a scenario where you can only take one player in one game with your life on the line. He argued that he would take Bryant and Bird before James in both of those scenarios.
"One game for your life, you want LeBron James or Kobe Bean Bryant? Because I'm taking Kobe," Bayless said.
Most of Smith's rebuttal about Kobe didn't center on career stats, but rather a select few playoff performances.
"Kobe didn't perform great in that Game 7. You talk about LeBron and got saved by Ryan Allen. That was Game 6. You're going to ignore the 37 and 15 he gave you in a Game 7? You going to ignore the 45 and 15 he gave you in that Game 6 in Boston?" Smith argued.
No. 8: Larry Bird
Stephen A. Smith did find some common ground on Larry Bird, but only in clutch situations.
"Last two minutes, I'm picking Larry Bird over practically everybody but Jordan," Smith said. "But there's 46 minutes too that go with that."
