Rumors of a possible NBA return has gotten the debates back in full swing and thanks to ESPN’s list of the top 74 players of all-time, everyone within the league’s circle has been chiming in.
ESPN’s list had 15 current or former Los Angeles Lakers, including six in the top 10, with LeBron James coming in highest at No. 2 overall behind only Michael Jordan.
One person who has been outspoken on these topics has been former NBA center and current ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins and he has taken things even further with his own number of lists. Perkins took the time on his Twitter to give out his all-time starting five as well as his top-5 most skilled players of all-time, but he wasn’t done.
Perkins has also ranked his top five all-around players on Twitter, and none other than current Lakers superstar LeBron James sat atop the list:
My All-Time Most All Around….
1. LeBron James
2. Larry Bird
3. Scottie Pippen
4. Russell Westbrook
5. Kevin Garnett
Don’t @ me!
— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) May 12, 2020
It is difficult to argue James spot here as he truly can do everything on the basketball court, which is what this is alluding to as opposed to also taking in someone’s career accomplishments and statistics. He has proven this time and again throughout his illustrious career.
James is an absolute monster on both sides of the floor. He may not have the pure offensive scoring repertoire like Kobe Bryant or Michael Jordan, he still an unbelievably accomplished scorer who is dominant in the paint and can get hot from deep.
However, his best skill on offense is passing as he has next-level vision and can make any pass imaginable from anywhere on the court.
James’ physical gifts allow him to be a menace defensively as he could legitimately guard any position on the floor, especially in his younger days. Quick enough to stay with a point guard on the perimeter, but also strong enough to deter bigs trying to post him up, there is just nothing he can’t do.
Of course there will be room to debate any list, especially one as subjective as this. All of those Perkins listed are more than deserving as are others who were left off such as Kobe, Jordan, or Hakeem Olajuwon.
But when it comes down to it, it’s hard to imagine anyone knocking LeBron James off this top spot.