As soon as Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen said that LeBron James may be the greatest player to ever play the game, instead of Michael Jordan, who he called the greatest scorer, he created a national stir with fans and pundits analyzing his statement.
His Hall of Fame brethren are now joining the conversation, and the early results are showing that Pippen might be by himself in his claim.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar released a letter Tuesday saying he disagrees that James may be the greatest player of all time and Jordan is the greatest scorer of all time, while Isiah Thomas said the potential is there for James to match Jordan, but he’s not sure that the Heat’s superstar will pass Jordan.
“I have nothing but respect for you my friend as an athlete and knowledgeable basketball mind. But you are way off in your assessment of who is the greatest player of all time and the greatest scorer of all time,” Abdul-Jabbar wrote on kareemabduljabbar.com. “Your comments are off because of your limited perspective.”
Pippen started the firestorm of debate when he told ESPN’s “Mike and Mike” on May 27: “Michael Jordan is probably the greatest scorer to ever play the game. I may go so far as saying LeBron James may be the greatest player to ever play the game.” He added that James is the complete package and he’s unstoppable in transition.
While Pippen later tweeted that Jordan was and still is the greatest, he said that James could get to his level and called LeBron the best all-around player in the game.
Abdul-Jabbar who had plenty to disagree about in his open letter on his website called “How Soon They Forget: An Open Letter to Scottie Pippen.”
He challenged the notion of Jordan as the greatest scorer by saying that crown belongs to Wilt Chamberlain, citing Chamberlain’s 1961-62 season when he averaged 50.4 points and 25.7 rebounds. Abdul-Jabbar, who is the league’s all-time points leader, also wrote about Chamberlain’s 100-point game and the smaller league size, which he said meant there was better talent in the league then compared to when Jordan played from the 1980s-2000s.
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