ESPN NBA insider Stephen A. Smith has never been one to lack opinions, and he recently dropped a scalding hot take regarding NBA superstar LeBron James. When speaking about James' absence from Dwyane Wade's recent Hall-of-Fame ceremony, Smith hinted that James owes a lot to his former Miami Heat teammate.

“LeBron James, one could easily argue, wouldn't even know what it's like to be a champion had it not been for Dwyane Wade,” Smith said. “Somebody needs to say it, so I'm going to say it.”

Stephen A. Smith would go on to say that he still has James at number two on his all-time list, behind only Michael Jordan.

Still, this hot take won't likely be received too well by James' die-hard supporters.

It is true, of course, that James was ringless when he took his talents to South Beach in 2010, joining Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to form the Big Three era in Miami.

After a shockingly poor performance in the 2011 Finals against the Dallas Mavericks, James bounced back, dropping off the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs for back-to-back championships alongside his Heat co-stars.

To be clear, James was the undisputed best player on those Miami teams, and Smith is not making the argument that Wade is a better player than James.

What Smith is insinuating, however, is that had James not played alongside the stabilizing force that was Wade, he might not have ever gotten over the hump.

Of course, James has gone on to win two more championships without Wade by his side. Still, it's fair to argue that his summiting of the NBA mountaintop may have at the very least been accelerated by playing alongside another future Hall-of-Famer.