We’re at that period in the NBA season that falls somewhere between the All-Star break and the final stretch of the playoff hunt, which almost always seems like the point where the NBA all-time great debate gets re-litigated for the millionth time.
You know: LeBron vs. Jordan. Or maybe LeBron vs. Jordan vs. Kobe vs. Kareem. And so on.
But you’re almost guaranteed to have that all-time debate involve LeBron somewhere near the top because, well, he’s, at worst, the second best player of all time. So, I guess we can give former NBA/ABA great Julius Erving credit for finding a way to leave LeBron out of the discussion completely — even if his justification was nonsensical. Points for originality!
“He’s the guy who has led the charge in terms of super teams…”@JuliusErving doesn't have LeBron on his top-two All-Time NBA teams 👀
Check out Posted Up with @ChrisBHaynes ➡️ https://t.co/LIqxEaKxVO pic.twitter.com/IROWlOSYkT
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) April 27, 2021
In an interview with Chris Haynes, Erving said he wouldn’t put LeBron on his first two all-time, All-NBA teams because LeBron played a prominent role in the league’s superteam movement.
And yes, LeBron did play a *large* part in teaming up with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami. But he was far from the first player to team up with stars. Plus, playing on a team with good players didn’t change the fact that LeBron was way better than everyone else he played against.
It was a strange argument, and Haynes pointed it out to Erving that championship teams historically have had multiple All-Stars. But it was Erving’s list — he can compile it as he wants. It just won’t be taken very seriously.
https://youtu.be/DFtlwTh8aXQ