Most believed LeBron James was slated to join either the Miami Heat or the Cleveland Cavaliers this summer. So, it was quite the shock when the 22-time NBA All-Star signed a two-year, $7.9 million veteran minimum contract with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Stephen Jackson has since gotten over the shock and relegated James to a lower tier of “NBA GOATs” because of the move, citing ring-chasing as the reason for the shift in his all-time rankings. That led the NBA world to bombard Jackson with takes defending James.
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Stephen Jackson’s Hot Take Prompts NBA Fans To Defend LeBron James
Jackson took to his “All The Smoke” podcast to speak on why he believes James dropped from the top tier of all-time player rankings after his move to Philadelphia.
“All the talk you hear about the GOATs and comparing him to [Michael] Jordan and Kobe [Bryant]. For me, Cleveland is the only thing that made sense for me to keep him in that conversation,” Jackson said.
“Going to a team that’s already championship-ready. That’s not what I would look at as the best player in the league challenging himself. I don’t think that was a ‘best player in the league’ move.”
The NBA world did not take too kindly to this stance from “Stack Jack.”
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“I never heard someone say go to a worse team so you can ‘challenge yourself,’ HE’S 41,” one basketball fan pushed back.
Onyx Odds pointed out that James will be 42 this December and will be in the NBA competing for a title, while Jordan, at 42, had already been retired for years. The caption read, “LeBron at 42 vs. Michael Jordan at 42.”
Another account called out Jackson for hating, saying, “Y’all were saying Jaylen Brown was overrated and Joel Embiid is cooked. Now this is a championship-ready team? Natural-born haters.”
One 76ers fan defended James, saying, “You’re right, he’s in a league of his own above them.”
Multiple fans also pointed out how the 76ers were a seventh seed last season and in the play-in tournament after finishing with a middling 45-37 record.
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“That team was not championship-ready. And LeBron has been passed Kobe a very long time ago, so I don’t get the obsession with bringing him up,” one fan said.
Another kept it simple, adding, “They were just a 7 seed what the [expletive] are we talking about?”
The Cavaliers were also a higher seed than the 76ers last season, posting a 52-30 record as the fourth seed. They also feature All-Star talent such as Donovan Mitchell, James Harden, and Evan Mobley.
So, the four-time MVP signing with the Cavaliers, aside from the homecoming narrative, could have technically been met with the same amount of vitriol as his joining the 76ers.
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James hasn’t been shy about admitting that, at this point in his career, his main goal is to compete for his fifth championship. He authored a statement after the decision, writing:
“I’m not going for money. I’m not going for family. What am I really playing for at this point? I still want to sacrifice. I still want to work. I still want to grind. I still want to compete, to win and to have a chance at the feeling of winning another championship. I believe I can help make the Philadelphia 76ers a championship team.”
So, in his own way, James has also admitted to ring-chasing, and unabashedly so.
This article originally appeared on Pro Football Network.
