Charles Barkley has publicly stated he would call LeBron James the greatest basketball player of all time if James leads the Philadelphia 76ers to back-to-back NBA championships at age 44 and 45. The comments came during an appearance on The Stephen A. Smith Show, where Barkley was asked directly about the ongoing GOAT debate between James and Michael Jordan. “If he wins back-to-back championships and walk away this thing at 44, 45, I’ll say something I ain’t never said before,” Barkley said.
“This dude, I think I just saw the greatest basketball player ever. ”
When pressed on whether he would give James the title of GOAT over Jordan under those conditions, Barkley responded, “I probably would. If he wins two more, you have to be kind of crazy not to say he’s the best to ever do it. ”
The comments come after James signed with the 76ers, reportedly on a two-year contract, joining a projected starting five that includes Joel Embiid, Jaylen Brown, Tyrese Maxey, and rookie V.
J. Edgecomb. Stephen A. Smith agreed with Barkley’s assessment, citing the unprecedented nature of winning a title in seasons 24 and 25 of a career.
“If you win a title in year 42 and 43, you’re absolutely the GOAT, the greatest basketball player of all time,” Smith said. “No disrespect to Michael Jordan. ”
Smith also noted that winning one more championship would make James the first player in NBA history to win titles with four different teams, adding that the Sixers’ 43-year championship drought would make such a feat especially significant. Philadelphia has not reached the Eastern Conference Finals since 2001, when Allen Iverson led the team to the NBA Finals.
Chris Canty, another panelist on the show, acknowledged that a title run in Philadelphia would intensify the GOAT debate but was careful to note the caveats. “He had to join four different teams and play 25 years to equal what Michael did doing it six times with one team,” Canty said. “We are always going to be split. There will never be an answer, and we will debate it forever.
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Canty pointed out that the top two picks in the 2025 NBA Draft, A. J. Dybantsa and Darren Peterson, were born in 2007, the same year James was already playing in the NBA Finals. He used this to illustrate the extraordinary length of James’s career.
The discussion also shifted to which teammate would benefit most from playing alongside James this season. Smith argued that Jaylen Brown is the player Philadelphia must figure out how to maximize. The Sixers made a major investment in Brown this offseason, committing approximately $160 million over three years and trading away a first-round pick and a valuable pick swap to acquire him. Brown, already a Finals MVP and multiple-time All-NBA selection, does not need James to validate his legacy, Smith noted.
But he argued that unlocking the best version of Brown, one who was an MVP candidate and one of the league’s top two-way players last season, would determine how far the Sixers go. Canty, however, identified Joel Embiid as the most important variable. He argued that no player in the NBA has been more associated with underachieving during the regular season and failing in the playoffs than Embiid, who has never reached a conference finals despite winning an MVP. Canty noted that Embiid’s history of injuries and playoff collapses makes him the biggest question mark on the roster.
“LeBron James’ presence there instantly changes that,” Canty said, referring to the perception of Embiid as a perennial loser. He also pointed out that four of the five projected starters ranked in the top 14 in fast break points last season, with Embiid being the exception, raising questions about how the lineup will fit together. The panel ultimately agreed that if anyone can make the combination work, it is James, widely considered to have the highest basketball IQ of any player in the last quarter century.
The Sixers are entering the season with championship expectations not seen in Philadelphia in decades, and the outcome could shape the greatest debate in basketball history.