LeBron James‘ string of dominant performances in the 2017 playoffs had many NBA fans arguing that the superstar forward is closing in on Michael Jordan as the consensus GOAT. However, Jordan's former running mate Scottie Pippen vehemently disagrees, and doesn't even think he stacks up to another basketball legend quite yet — former Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard and five-time NBA champion Kobe Bryant.

Pippen appeared on Wednesday's edition of ESPN's SportsCenter to give his opinion on the heated debate. He claimed that despite his heroics in last year's finals and this year's playoffs, James has not yet surpassed Bryant in the hierarchy of NBA greats. Pippen also noted that while James is great at what he does, he shouldn't be compared to scoring guards like Bryant or Jordan.

Pippen said:

“I don’t think he’s surpassed Kobe at all, no. And I don’t think he should be compared to either of those players (Jordan and Kobe) because they’re playing different positions. Kobe and Michael are both 2 guards. They’re both scorers. They’re mostly like a Kyrie (Irving) — they’re looking to score the basketball.”

Pippen does bring up a solid point. Although LeBron James is undoubtedly a talented scorer, he acts as more of a facilitator than either of these two players ever were in their respective careers.

Either way, it appears as if James still has a little while to go before he earns the title of ‘Greatest of All-Time' — but he's certainly making strides.