Stephon Marbury seems to have had some interesting opinions in his commentary on LeBron James. Marbury is not fully buying the whole LeBron being the GOAT and thinks that Kobe Bryant is actually the best player since the days of Michael Jordan. That is a big opinion because many have LeBron in the GOAT conversation right next to Jordan.
But former Knicks guard Brandon Jennings does not agree with Marbury's opinion. Jennings came to LeBron's defense, saying that all that criticism on LeBron is just a bit too much. He feels LeBron has done enough to deserve respect. Just because he came after Jordan doesn't mean we should hold it against him. His achievements, right from his high school days are huge for people who have grown up watching him. To them, LeBron holds the same type of significance that Jordan does to the generation of people who actually saw him play.
Gilbert Arenas also chimed in on the conversation by stating that Jordan was so respected in his time that nobody could say anything bad about him, he brought his name and brand into really high regard. He somehow doesn't give the same kind of respect to LeBron after all that he did in his 21-year career. It's like people are just waiting to be able to find something to critique.
Making it more interesting, recently, Marbury had an awkward moment with LeBron at the just concluded Paris Olympics of 2024. After a big win for Team USA, Marbury did the gentlemanly act by trying to congratulate LeBron, but LeBron seemed not to haven taken note and recognized anything Marbury had said. Marbury later laughed it off, saying LeBron wasn't "strong enough" to say something back to him. All this little incident will probably add another layer of depth to Marbury's ongoing critique of LeBron.
The whole situation shows just how personal and subjective this GOAT debate is. There are those like Marbury who simply look at the championships and dominance and others like Jennings who look at the holistic impact of an individual player on the game. Wherever a person falls right there, it's pretty obvious this debate over who's the greatest is going to be argued forever.