“LeBron James could score 80 million points, he would never take that crown from Jordan” - Spice Adams believes nobody from his era will crown LeBron James as the GOAT
The basketball community cheered on as LeBron James became the second-leading scorer of all-time, relegating Karl Malone to the third position. As he edges closer to kareem-abdul-jabbar" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-is-sponsored="false">Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s record with intentions to surpass it, people have raised the conversation anew about him being the greatest player of all time.
James has scored more points than Michael Jordan and is clearly on his way to becoming the all-time scoring leader in the league's history. Questions have been asked and statements have been made, some claiming that maybe then he will unseat MJ as the greatest NBA player ever.
LeBron James moves into second place on the NBA's all-time scoring list.
He has his eyes on that top spot 😤 https://t.co/gR5vQBQNgr
Spice Adams on "The Big Shaq" podcast doesn't share that thought process. He stated that as far as his generation is concerned, LBJ will never be perceived as the greatest of all time regardless of the number of points scored.
"LeBron James could score 80 million points, he would never take that crown from Jordan," Adams said.
Will LeBron James ever unseat Michael Jordan as the greatest player in the NBA history?
LeBron James is having a fantastic season at age 37, leading the league in scoring average at 30.0 points per game. Despite potentially being the scoring champion, the LA Lakers (31-42) are having a challenging season with the possibility of making it to the play-in tournament in doubt. His goal of clinching a fifth title will most likely be extended for another season.
"If they make if to the eighth spot, they will beat Phoenix" 👀
@SHAQ talks Lakers' playoff hopes on #TheBigPodcast: bit.ly/36rd3qp https://t.co/UdHjerZqt4
James has four championship titles to his name, while Michael Jordan has won six. This often arises in the GOAT conversation, and some have chucked it down to James becoming the all-time scorer, being enough a reason to overthrow Jordan.
Adams argues that being the all-time leading scorer does not equate to being the greatest player of all-time. He used Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as an example when compared to Air Jordan. Despite Abdul-Jabbar being the all-time scorer, Jordan has continued to be tagged as the greatest.
"Kareem Abdul-Jabbar currently and has always had more points than Jordan, but everybody said Jordan is better than Kareem, so what's gonna be the difference now?" Adams said.
Jordan holds the NBA record for scoring average, at 30.12 ppg. James is fifth at 27.12 ppg, with Kevin Durant fourth at 27.12.
James is second in career scoring, with 36,985 points in 19 seasons. Abdul-Jabbar scored 38,387 points in 20 seasons. Jordan, who played 15 seasons, is fifth after totaling 32,292 points.
Jordan, of course, retired twice. He missed nearly two full seasons the first time, coming back for the final 17 games of the 1994-95 season. He then missed another three seasons before returning in 2001, when he was 38.
Jordan also missed all but 18 games with a broken foot in his second season, 1985-86. All total, however, he led the NBA in scoring average in 10 of the 11 seasons in which he played at least 78 games.