Charles Barkley explains why Kobe and Jordan will always be above of LeBron James

Throughout history, most people have agreed that Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James are – at worst – 3 of the 5 greatest players of all time. You could add a couple of legends here and there, but those 3 names will always be in the conversation.

But apparently, that’s not enough. For some reason, we’ve always felt the need to compare them to each other and say who’s the better player. It makes no sense, given that they all played in different eras and under different sets of rules, but still.

And, during a recent interview with Bob Costas, NBA legend Charles Barkley stirred the pot with his recent comments on LeBron, saying that he’ll never be better than the other players mentioned because of how stacked his teams are.

Charles Barkley Says LeBron Will Never Be Better Than Kobe Or Jordan

“Jordan. LeBron is amazing. What he’s done in the community is amazing. In fairness, I wouldn’t even put LeBron past Kobe, let’s get that out of the way. I want to be fair. The reason I put Michael up there, above those other guys. LeBron has stacked his teams, let’s be realistic,” Barkley said.

Barkley has a fair point right there. James has never been able to win an NBA Championship without a stacked team. But hey, basketball is a team sport, so there should be no shame in that.

Richard Jefferson Fires Back At Barkley

That’s why LeBron’s former teammate and close friend Richard Jefferson clapped back at Barkley, explaining why LeBron’s situation can’t be compared to Kobe’s or even Jordan’s and even taking a shot at him:

“In all fairness Chuck is right. LeBron didn’t get drafted to a team with Shaq like Kobe. Cavs never found the Pippen in Bron’s first 8 years because he was too good they never drafted that high. Ps… Charles got drafted to a team with Dr.J, Moses Malone and 2 other Hall of Famers. I see his point though,“ Jefferson replied.

At the end of the day, there’s just no point in comparing these three legends. We can all agree that they were the best players in the world at some point in their careers and that’s it. Enjoy them, don’t compare them.