LeBron James was as highly touted a prospect as there has ever been in the NBA, and that has led to many debates over whether he is the best player in NBA history. However, Charles Barkley doesn’t simply want to focus on his place as a player and instead wants to focus on James’s entire story.
While appearing on the SI Media Podcast with Jimmy Traina, Barkley made a definitive statement about James’s place in the world of sports.
“I think his story is the greatest story in sports history,” Barkley said.
The Basketball Hall of famer and TNT analyst believes that because since James made an impact in the NBA immediately after high school, the forward has done something that competitors such as Kobe Bryant never did.
“The only guy I’ve ever seen who came right out of high school, who lived up to it, was LeBron,” Barkley told Traina. “For him to come in at 18, and be as good as he was as a player … and to never have gotten in trouble, especially in today’s society, where everybody has a cell phone and everybody’s out to get you, I think his story is the greatest story in sports.”
James has stamped his place in NBA history, winning four championships and sitting as the league’s all-time leading scorer. According to Barkley, you can add best narrative to that list.
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