Stephen A. Smith rips Lakers star LeBron James' GOAT status amid massive coaching turnover

07/05/2024 05:54

Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James has had an awe-inspiring NBA career. James is coming off his 21st season and is the league’s all-time scoring leader in addition to garnering 4 championships. Still, some analysts are not convinced he holds GOAT status. Stephen A Smith explained the coaching reason he is critical of James’ ranking on the all-time list.

Smith used First Take co-host Shannon Sharp as an example of someone who measures their success by leadership. According to Smith, Sharp rarely talks about his greatness as a player. Rather, he emphasizes his locker room presence and impact on the team.

Stephen A Smith acknowledged that LeBron James has great leadership ability, but the numerous amount of coaches he has gone through takes points away from him. Furthermore, he drew from Michael Wilbon’s criticism of James needing to take more accountability for the Lakers’ early 2024 postseason exit instead of letting Darvin Ham take the blame.

“There’s no way Darvin Ham is gone if Anthony Davis and LeBron James want him to stay…[Not speaking up and standing up for Ham]…all of those things come along with critiquing one’s GOAT status,” Smith explained in First Take.

In addition to 2024’s Darvin Ham situation, Smith believes James having 10 different head coaches in his career takes away from his GOAT status ranking.

“The acrimony, the friction, the divide, the fragmentation, all of those things play a role in one’s greatness or lack thereof. Maybe that’s the reason LeBron has four rings instead of six,” Smith added.

LeBron James’ squad was bounced from the playoffs early again in 2024 with their 4-1 series loss to Denver. Ironically, the Nuggets were the same ones who swept the Lakers in the 2023 Western Conference Finals. It seems Nikola Jokic and company are James’ kryptonite. Could his career turnover of coaches be an issue as well?

Is Lakers star LeBron James’ GOAT status diminishing?

James’ GOAT status has been a hot topic following his 21st season. Stephen A Smith and Michael Wilbon’s takes are understandable when considering the revolving door of coaches James has played for. At the same time, the decision to ultimately change coaches is the GM’s.

That does not mean James should not take more accountability for his team’s woes. Moreover, the longer James plays and comes up short of a championship, the more his all-time status is hurt. Kendrick Perkins emphasized this shortly after LA’s first-round 2024 exit.

"I hate to say this but I believe it in my soul. I wish LeBron James would retire. Not because I don’t want to see more of LeBron James…The more LeBron James continues to play the game of basketball, the more it’s going to hurt his legacy and the more it’s going to continue to hurt his GOAT argument," Perkins stated.

Is Perkins right? If James retired, he would theoretically lose less than he could have if he kept playing. On the other hand, James has the opportunity to add to his all-time status by pushing for one more title before he hangs his jersey up.

Things have not gone well for James or the Lakers, but rest assured the star forward will find a way to end his career on top.

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