LeBron James may be the most accomplished player in NBA history, but his status as the GOAT is far from a consensus in the basketball community. According to former league point guard Mario Chalmers (who once played with LeBron), the thing holding James back in the conversation is the lack of fear he instills in the competition.
"I didn't think players really fear LeBron like they did Michael Jordan," said Chalmers on the BIG podcast. "It's not that you shouldn't fear LeBron I just think at the end of the day, LeBron has been through so much that he wanted to be liked. So it was kind of like I'm gonna do things now where people like me, people respect me. But you actually like LeBron and want to be a fan of LeBron and I think that's what that was."
Chalmers, 38, is a 10-year NBA veteran who played alongside LeBron James during his best days on the Heat . From 2011 to 2014, Chalmers got the nod as starting point guard for the Heat and played a key role in their back-to-back title wins in 2012 and 2013.
While his run with James was short-lived, Chalmers saw how LeBron engaged with the competition and he remembers how the King wanted to be remembered. While LeBron invoked plenty of fear on the basketball court, he wanted to be liked and adored by the fans and players alike.
To this day, LeBron prefers to befriend the competition rather than make enemies with them. While some claim to fear the King , he has established close ties with many of the modern-day greats, including Stephen Curry , Kevin Durant, and Chris Paul. Over the years, James has snuffed out any potential rivalries and has almost gone out of his way to get on everyone's good side.
Michael Jordan took a different approach during his career. As a 6x champion, 5x MVP, and 10x scoring leader, Michael was able to dominate the game at an unprecedented level with a certain cold-blooded ruthlessness that is rarely seen today.
Michael often showed little care for building friendships with his peers, whether it was the opposing fans, other players, or even his own teammates. As a highly competitive and stubborn athlete, Jordan's only goal was to win games and it often made him a lot of enemies on the court.
NBA legends like Isiah Thomas and Bill Lambier have a well-known beef with Jordan and even Bulls champion Scottie Pippen has spoken out against him in the past. Nobody was above the game for Michael and he didn't care what bridges he had to burn on the path to victory.
After all that, it's no wonder why Jordan is remembered for invoking fear in those around him. The way he would dominate games in such an aggressive and unapologetic manner defined his career and gave him a reputation for ruthlessness that lives on to this day.
The same cannot be said for LeBron James. His career achievements are enough to put him in the GOAT conversation but when it comes to which player was most intimidating, nobody tops Michael Jordan. He put fear in his opponents like nobody else and people are still talking about it to this day.
Related: Shawn Kemp Doesn't Think LeBron James Should Be Compared To Michael Jordan
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