Former NBA player Kendrick Perkins gave an impassioned explanation of why LeBron James is the greatest player of all-time

• ESPN ranked Michael Jordan as the greatest NBA player of all-time and LeBron James second.
• On ESPN's "Get Up," former NBA player and James teammate, Kendrick Perkins, argued James should be No. 1, citing an impeccable statistical resumé, his frequent Finals appearances, landmark moments, and his ability to exceed expectations.
• While many people rank Jordan first, with James still playing at an MVP-level, if and when basketball resumes, he has a chance to close the gap.
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The debate over the greatest NBA player of all-time has been rekindled by ESPN's "The Last Dance" and the reflection on Michael Jordan's career.

ESPN released a ranking of the greatest NBA playersof all-time, ranking Jordan No. 1, LeBron James No. 2, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar No. 3. Of note (and some controversy), the list ranked Kobe Bryant at ninth all-time.

On ESPN's "Get Up," former NBA player, and one-time teammate of James, Kendrick Perkins gave a passionate argument about why James is the greatest player of all-time. The case for Jordan as No. 1 is rock-solid, but Perkins' argument could sway some people.

Here is Perkins' argument in full:

"I put LeBron James No. 1. When we talk about LeBron James, there hasn't been one athlete that has exceeded the expectations placed on his name in any sport like LeBron James.

"Here we are. Let's talk about LeBron James a little bit. LeBron James' career averages: 27 points, 7.5 assists, 7.5 rebounds. And let's take it a step further. We're talking about a LeBron James that's arguably probably going to end up No. 1 or No. 2 on the NBA all-time scoring list. We're talking about a LeBron James that's going to end up top five in assists. We're talking about a LeBron James that's going to end up with 10,000-plus rebounds. That makes him the best all-around NBA player of all-time.

"And then you want to take it a step further? LeBron James has played 17 years in the NBA. He's went to the Finals nine times. That's more than 50% of his career spent in the Finals.

"And then please don't get me started with the conversation, 'Oh, LeBron James don't have that killer mindset like Michael Jordan.' Oh, give me a break. Remember when LeBron James left the Cleveland Cavaliers his first time and he went down to Miami Heat? You remember the whole letter [Cavs owner] Dan Gilbert wrote about LeBron James? He called him everything under the sun. He called him a Benedict Arnold. And LeBron James took it. What did LeBron James do after he won his next two titles with the Miami Heat? He said, 'You know what? I owe the city of Cleveland, the state of Ohio, I owe all the Cleveland Cavaliers fans around the world a championship.'

"So he went back home. He went back home, and guess what he did. He won an NBA championship. And he won it in great fashion. By the way, he beat a 73-9 Golden State Warriors team who's arguably one of the greatest teams ever to play in the NBA history. And to top it off, he had the greatest comeback in NBA history — down 3-1, which made it one of the greatest championships in sports history.

"That's why I got LeBron James No. 1."

Statistically, James is set to dominate the all-time leaderboards, as Perkins noted. James is just 4,300 points behind Abdul-Jabbar as the all-time leading scorer in NBA history. If James can stay healthy for two or three more seasons (assuming basketball returns to normal in the not-so-distant future after the coronavirus pandemic), he'll have a good shot to become No. 1 all-time.

James is eighth all-time in assists, but led the league in assists this year at age 35. He's 843 assists away from climbing into the top five, so again, with two or three more healthy seasons and a standard NBA schedule, he should make the top five.

He's less than 700 rebounds shy of the 10,000-rebound mark that Perkins mentioned. At James' current pace, he'll likely climb into the top 35 all-time.

James also ranks 14th all-time in three-pointers and just 128 outside of the top 10. And he's just 151 steals away from making the top 10 all-time.

The major knock on James' resume is his Finals record, which is just 3-6. As Perkins noted, his 2016 championship with the Cavaliers is considered one of the greatest wins ever and has boosted James' legacy.

The context matters, too. James' first Finals loss came in 2007, when his upstart Cavs team was over-matched against Tim Duncan (eighth all-time on ESPN's list) and the mighty San Antonio Spurs at their peak. James also twice played the Kevin Durant-led Warriors, likely one of the most talented teams of all-time and far better than his Cavs team.

As "Get Up" host Mike Greenberg noted, he has James comfortably at No. 2 all-time behind Jordan. Greenberg said if the point of basketball is to win, he would choose Jordan over anyone else to win a basketball game.

As of 2019, most Americans agreed with Greenberg, with Jordan way ahead of James in the "G.O.A.T" argument.

Yet James is 35 and was having an MVP-caliber season before the season was suspended for COVID-19. If basketball resumes soon and James can maintain his level of play for a few more seasons, his argument will only grow stronger.

• Read more:
• The 20 best basketball players in the world, pound-for-pound
• Michael Jordan's former agent explained how a 21-year-old Jordan put on a perfect poker face during Nike's pitch to keep the company on its toes
• Legendary NBA broadcaster Mike Breen says Michael Jordan's 'mystique' was so rare he could intimidate anyone in his path
• How Dennis Rodman went from a homeless, junior college walk-on to one of the most interesting and controversial NBA legends

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