When his career eventually ends, LeBron James will finish as one of the best, if not the best, NBA players of all time.
While his time with the Los Angeles Lakers could be coming to a close sooner than many expected, a Hall of Fame player chose to discuss James’ legacy rather than his immediate future, like so many others.
John Stockton, the NBA’s all-time leader in assists and steals, called out James for the way he’s gone through his career. While the 10-time All-Star was quiet during his playing days, he didn’t hold back on James.
“I like where guys tighten their belt up and say…’let’s go to work,’“ Stockton said in response to a question about how James has leveraged his influence on teams to acquire new players or leave teams one not competitive. “Just got to get better. We got to play harder. We gotta play smarter, instead of just huh, where’s the grass greener?”
But for reference, though without titles, Stockton does have the resume to comment on top players. He ranks first all-time in assists and steals, has 11 All-NBA selections, two Olympic Gold Medals, and is often considered one of the best point guards in NBA history.
Stockton Made His LeBron James Thoughts Clear
Stockton referenced both Michael Jordan on the Chicago Bulls and himself alongside Karl Malone on the Utah Jazz for what he believed was the better model for becoming an all-time great player.
“I’m gonna go there and win a championship. I think it devalues that,” Stockton added. “You’re not climbing the mountain, you’re taking a helicopter to the top.”
In Stockton’s opinion, James’s switching teams to have a better chance at winning championships devalues the titles themselves. However, he never won a title in his career, losing to Jordan in his two Finals appearances in 1997 and 1998.
He has made a similar point about work ethic and championships in the past. In his final NBA game in 2003, Stockton commented on how, though he might not have a ring, that doesn’t diminish his journey.
“A lot of this is about the journey,” Stockton said, according to NBA.com. “I’m sure there are people that have won championships who haven’t had to work very hard at it. We worked very hard and haven’t done it, and yet I feel a lot of reward out of the effort that it took to compete.”
Perhaps Stockton values the 19 seasons he spent with the Jazz over James’ 22 seasons spent with three different teams.
The ‘Legacy Formula’
In somewhat related fashion, Stockton’s comments of staying with one team in hopes of winning titles ‘the hard way‘ brings up similar comments made over the summer by Emmanuel Acho.
The FS1 analyst created his ‘Legacy Formula‘ in which players were ranked based on the number of championships they won, divided by the number of teams they played for.
Championships won ÷ Teams played for = Player Legacy
Rings Teams Score
Steph: 4 1 4.0
Bron: 4 3 1.3
KD: 2 5* 0.4
highest value is greatest t.co/npRZNxlQtb
While it seemed particularly targeted towards James, Kevin Durant took umbrage with the Legacy Formula, creating a full-blown beef with Acho.
“According to The Great Kevin Durant’s legacy formula that was created in the best labs at MIT, Emmanuel is the worst linebacker of all time,“ Durant wrote in response to his 0.4 rating on the ‘Legacy Formula. “You sure you wanna listen to this guy about greatness?”
Whether it’s John Stockton, one of the best NBA players of all-time, or Emmanuel Acho, former NFL linebacker with 20 total games played, championships will always be used to pick apart James’ legacy.
But as questions have begun to rise on James’ future with the Lakers, he should question if a move to a different team is his best option, as it could drop his legacy rating from a 1.3 to a 1.0.
Joking, obviously.
NBA Hall of Famer Takes Harsh Shots At Lakers’ LeBron James