It’s certainly up for debate, but there are lots of people in the world who think LeBron James is the greatest basketball player of all time.
His resume absolutely speaks to that, too. He’s got four NBA championships, is about to be the NBA’s all-time total point leader and is still giving us All-NBA performances in an illustrious career at 37 years old.
So, sure. He might be the greatest ever. But is he the most “skilled” player ever? Apparently not. At least according to Tracy McGrady.
On Shannon Sharpe’s Club Shay Shay podcast, McGrady said Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant are a more skilled duo than LeBron James and Dwyane Wade were when they played together.
Tracy McGrady says Kyrie & Kevin Durant are more skilled than LeBron and D-Wade & Jordan and Pippen 👀
"LeBron and D-Wade, skill-wise, are not touching KD and Kyrie." pic.twitter.com/vgqzWBa2VL
— Club Shay Shay (@ClubShayShay) April 19, 2022
“I haven’t seen a duo that skilled…[Michael Jordan] and [Scottie Pippen]?… There’s no other dynamic duo that compares to KD and Kyrie. Even if you look at what LeBron and D-Wade was, skill-wise, they still not touching them two boys.”
That’s…that’s a lot to take in. First of all, the Steph Curry erasure here is wild.
Secondly, to compare Durant and Irving to James and Wade here feels like a stretch. Those were two pretty incredibly skilled players in their primes. Wade might be the most explosive guard in NBA history and James is…well, he’s LeBron James.
But the thing is…James actually agrees with McGrady. And so did Wade. The two responded in tweets backing this up.
I see no lie told! They are 2 of the most skilled players of ALL-TIME
— LeBron James (@KingJames) April 20, 2022
Wade was first to agree saying that he didn’t feel like McGrady saying that was a knock on James and Wade as a duo. Then James followed up by saying he saw “no lies told” and that Irving and Durant were two of the most skilled players to ever touch a basketball.
So there you have it, folks. I still think this is something that should be up for debate and, honestly, we need to figure out what we define skill as. But if James and Wade think McGrady is right, there’s got to be something to this.
The best part about this is the conversation won’t stop here. It’ll go on for years to come. And if the Nets are lucky, that skill might lead to a championship or two that’ll back up McGrady’s claim here.