It’s nice to finally hear LeBron James getting some support from a Hall of Famer after the beating he took this summer. From Michael Jordan to Magic Johnson and Charles Barkley, LeBron took shots from the media and his fellow legends. Most of it was out of jealousy and a fear of having their legacies outdone by King James. In Barkley’s case, it was out of stupidity considering Charles couldn’t win on his own and went to Houston to chase rings. But getting back to it, ESPN had a few clips from an interview with Oscar Robertson where he praised LeBron. Here’s what he said, courtesy of a transcription from Sporting News:
Is Barkley trying to say that he thinks LeBron is not as good as Michael Jordan? Come on. LeBron is in a class by himself.”
The Big O also offered encouragement to James, whose departure from northeast Ohio caused a lot of hard feelings.
“All this legacy stuff people talk about before he even finishes playing? It’s all TV talk. They talk about you, they burn your jersey … Just grit your teeth and go harder. Just keep going harder. Keep going as hard as you can and wear ’em out.”
It’s nice to see someone talk about LeBron from a level-headed perspective. The Big O was right on when he says all the legacy stuff is TV talk. If people could look ahead and think about things when James has three or four rings, what criticism will there be then? And as far as talents and skill sets go, LeBron is in a class by himself. Finally, someone looked at the situation fairly.
