Ray Allen, one of the greatest shooters of all-time, and LeBron James, one of the greatest talents of all-time, won a championship together with the Miami Heat in 2013. A ten-time All-Star and now a member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, Allen was recently asked about who he would put on his all-time starting five with a sixth man and surprisingly enough, James was not one of the five players he picked as a starter.
“Michael Jordan, Magic (Johnson), Larry (Bird), Shaq (O’Neal), and Hakeem Olajuwon,” Allen said, via Ishaan Bhattacharya. “Sixth man? I've never been asked sixth man. It would be, I would say LeBron.”
No matter who you consider the greatest player in NBA history to be, there is no denying that James is and will forever be one of the greatest talents to ever player in this league. Recently passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar this season for the most points scored in league history, there really is not much that James hasn't accomplished.
It may come as a shock for Allen to leave him out of his all-time starting five, but the five players he picked are all legends that he likely grew up idolizing.
Magic Johnson is heavily regarded as the best point guard of all-time, Larry Bird is one of the great forwards, if not the greatest, of all-time, Shaquille O'Neal and Hakeem Olajuwon are two of the greatest centers in league history and Michael Jordan is still widely considered the best player ever.
As good as James has been all of these years, he wasn't really someone Allen would have watched. By the time James entered the league in 2003, Allen had already been in the NBA for seven seasons. This is likely the reason why the Los Angeles Lakers star was left off of Allen's all-time starting five.
Being picked as this team's “sixth man” is really not an insult, as all of those that Allen mentioned are basketball legends in their own right. They all brought something unique to the league and changed the way the game is played today.
Fans of James will be unhappy with Allen's list but his starting five is absolutely a reflection of those he idolized and watched growing up.
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