Charles Barkley insists LeBron James is a not an all-time top 5 player, and that the two-time reigning league MVP only fluctuates in and out of his top 10.
"I have Michael Jordan No. 1, Oscar Robertson at No. 2. Then Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Russell," Barkley told Sports Illustrated. "I have Kobe Bryant, LeBron, Tim Duncan, Jerry West and Elgin Baylor after that.
"Those are my top 10. Those second five fluctuate, but who do I take off my top five? LeBron can get to No. 6 on my list, but here's the thing that bothers me about the whole LeBron debate: I want to know why y'all killed Kobe Bryant... You are skipping him for LeBron and going right to Michael. I'm still going to take five (titles) over two."
Barkley later told SI he also hopes James returns to Cleveland at some point, the hometown he bolted to join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in forming The Big Three in Miami. "That's my personal opinion," he said.
Barkley also weighed in Andrew Wiggins, the latest high school phenomenon and current Kansas player to be compared to James.
Though he claims to have never seem Wiggins play, Barkley told SI "OK, he's a great high school player. Let me see what happens when he gets to college... I will watch the Wiggins kid play when I start watching college basketball."
Before long, Barkley was turning his attention back to LeBron and the Heat.
"All you guys act like Miami is a juggernaut. First of all, they went seven games with the Pacers in last season's Eastern Conference finals and they should have lost to the Spurs in the NBA Finals. It ain't like they are the Michael Jordan Bulls."
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