Stephen A. Smith voiced a strong view about the NBA GOAT debate, which often involves LeBron James and Michael Jordan.

In an appearance on Thursday’s episode of First Take, 56-year-old Smith expressed his belief that this year’s playoffs will allow Los Angeles Lakers legend LeBron James to alter the narrative surrounding the greatest basketball player of all time.

First Take star Stephen A. Smith made a claim concerning LeBron James and his path to possibly being the GOAT of basketball over Michael JordanCredit: Twitter/FirstTake

In the opening round of the NBA playoffs, the 39-year-old LeBron and the Lakers will take on the Denver Nuggets.

Four of Denver’s eight consecutive victories over Los Angeles came during the Western Conference Finals sweep from the previous season.

The Nuggets, led by Nikola Jokic, went on to win the NBA Finals.

The No. 7 seed Lakers and the No. 2 seed Denver Nuggets will play each other this weekend.

The panel on First Take talked about James’s potential to lead Los Angeles to an unexpected series victory.

Stephen A. has previously expressed the opinion that Michael Jordan, the six-time MVP of the NBA Finals, is the greatest player of all time.

The outspoken personality maintained his position, but he did admit that if the Lakers win the NBA Finals in 2024, there could be a case to be made for LeBron being the greatest of all time.

“I’m not sure how persuasive my case will be for Jordan going forward if LeBron James defeats Denver and goes on to win another chip,” Smith remarked.

This season’s championship win by James would mark his sixth Larry O’Brien trophy overall.

NBA fans’ reactions to Stephen A.’s thoughts on X, the former Twitter, were still divided.

Shaq responds to ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins with a “hall of famer” barb following his assertion that NBA players on TNT “don’t watch games.”

How can this be an argument at all? One fan declared, “LeBron is the greatest basketball player of all time.”

Another fan said, “The fact y’all are still looking for reasons to crown Bron over guy whose career has been over for over 20 years tells you who the real GOAT is.”

“LeBron is already the goof,” a third supporter commented.

James is in his 21st NBA season right now.

In the 2023–24 season, James scored 25.7 points per game on average.Regards: Getty

Throughout the regular season, the Lakers won 47 games.

James averaged 25.7 points per game while making 54% of his free throws.

In the play-in tournament, Los Angeles took on the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday.

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LeBron James scored 23 points, grabbed nine rebounds, and dished out nine assists as the Lakers defeated the Pelicans 110-106.

Los Angeles had won 12 of their previous 15 games coming into their first-round playoff meeting.