All-Star Ranks Lakers' LeBron James Below Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan in GOAT Race

Does he make a salient point?

Mar 10, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) and Los Angeles Lakers forward Kobe Bryant (24) battle for position in the first quarter of the game at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Two-time All-NBA point guard Stephon Marbury, who played alongside 20-time All-NBA Los Angeles Lakers combo forward LeBron James on the infamous, bronze medal-winning Team USA Olympic squad in 2004, has a definitive argument about his league GOAT (Greatest Of All Time). And it's not L.A. legends like James or Kobe Bryant, an 18-time All-Star shooting guard.

Marbury told Brandon "Scoop B" Robinson on his show "Scoop B Radio" that Chicago Bulls Hall of Fame shooting guard Michael Jordan operates in another stratosphere, historically speaking. He has weighed in on this on X, as well.

“LeBron’s a great player," Marbury said. "Don’t get me wrong. A great, great player. Unbelievable. Amazing. But better than Michael Jordan? – it’s not even the same. It’s just different. In fact, it needs no explanation or explaining because we can’t talk about Jordan’s game. It’s like we need to talk about what people are not."

“People wanna rank Jordan? Jordan shouldn’t even be ranked," Marbury added. "It should be Kobe, then LeBron and then you can pick guys after that. There’s just no comparison man. It’s not the same. It’s just different worlds. Different mentalities. I don’t know why Jordan’s name is mentioned in the same conversation sometimes. I’ll clear that up real quick… there’s really no need to talk about that.”

Marbury was a member of the same hallowed 1996 NBA Draft class as Bryant, as were Hall of Famers Allen Iverson (the No. 1 pick out of Georgetown), Ray Allen (the No. 5 pick out of Connecticut, whose draft rights were flipped to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for Marbury, the No. 4 pick out of Georgia Tech), and two-time MVP Steve Nash (the No. 15 pick out of Santa Clara). All-NBA stars like Jermaine O'Neal and Peja Stojakovic, All-Stars like Shareef Abdur-Rahim, Antoine Walker, Žydrūnas Ilgauskas, and 2007 Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Camby filled out the rest of the class. O'Neal has the best shot at Springfield, but Marbury and international talents Stojakovic and Ilgauskas could conceivably one day make the cut, too.

Marbury played in the league until 2009, before moving on to a decorated Chinese Basketball Association career.

The 39-year-old James moved on from his bronze experience with Team USA and Marbury to earn three subsequent gold medals, in 2008, 2012, and most recently this summer.

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