Charles Barkley has chimed on on the whole Michael Jordan vs. LeBron James debate. Barkley, who himself had the opportunity to play against Jordan on more than a few occasions during his heyday, says that he believes it is simply not right to compare LeBron to MJ.

“In my opinion, Michael the GOAT,” Barkley said on “The Lefkoe Show,” via Rob Schaefer of NBC Sports Chicago. “And LeBron, to me, I’ve always said he’s closer to Magic Johnson than he is to Michael.”

Barkley went on to say that in his mind, Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant is the only one he is comfortable comparing to the great Michael Jordan.

“I ain’t never gonna say anything bad about LeBron James, but the closest to Michael I’ve ever seen was Kobe,” Barkley said. “And what I mean by that is a guy who has a singular vision, like, I just want to win. I’m not worried what my teammates think. I’m not worried about what the coach think. I just want to win.”

In his statement above, Barkley is also implying that he believes LeBron lacks that killer mentality in terms of wanting to win at all costs. This may not exactly be a bad thing for James, who Barkley believes not only takes optics into consideration, but more importantly, has a very high regard for the impression he leaves on his teammates and coaches. LeBron may not be the GOAT in Barkley's mind, but perhaps he is saying that James is the best teammate among the three.