Stephen A. Smith was not having any of Julius Erving's top 10 all-time NBA players list.
The 1983 NBA champion made headlines in a recent interview after naming his Top 10 all-time NBA players list and not including a certain Los Angeles Lakers star in LeBron James.
The likes of Michael Jordan, Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson are all present as one would expect. However, James — regarded by most to at least be a top three player of all time and for some, the greatest of all time — is absent from the list.
It should be noted that Erving's list only consists of players who are not active anymore, which is also the reason why Golden State Warriors Stephen Curry is absent should he have made it.
But for Smith, that's still no excuse to exclude James — even if he feels Erving is entitled to his own opinion.
“[Julius Erving] didn't choose any active players… He's entitled to his own opinion, I just think he's wrong,” Smith said on First Take (via ClutchPoints). “You cannot have an all-time top 10 list without LeBron James. I've got LeBron James as a top-two player all time, what do you mean he's not on the list?
“You talk about Steph not being on the list. Steph has been in the league for over a decade, he's got four championships. LeBron James has been in the league for 20 years. He played more years than most of the players Dr. J had on the list, so certainly experience is not an issue there.”
"[Julius Erving] didn't choose any active players… He's entitled to his own opinion, I just think he's wrong. You cannot have an all-time top 10 list without LeBron James."
Stephen A. Smith is NOT a fan of Dr. J's top 10 list 😅
(via @FirstTake)pic.twitter.com/hraKE0VlX8
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) July 31, 2023
In the end, Smith can understand other active players being left off for some of the NBA pioneers. But not when it comes to LeBron James.
“LeBron James for what he brings to the table, is one of the top two or three players in the history of basketball,” he added. “Anyone that knows basketball knows that.”
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