Is LeBron the greatest basketball player ever?

LeBron James broke what was once considered by some to be an unbreakable record by surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA’s all-time leading scorer.

In the morning glow of that accomplishment, The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz waded into the always contentious GOAT debate on Wednesday.

Dan starts by saying he believes LeBron is the greatest of all-time — even if Stugotz doesn’t believe he’s the greatest — noting that LeBron has throughout his lifetime only been chasing the ghost of “Can you be the best ever?” Dan can’t believe that LeBron is nearing 40 and still bigger and stronger and faster than everyone he is playing against.

Then Chris Cote ... I’m sorry, “Sand Man” live from the “beach” in Miami ... fought through the bright “sun” and “wind” to point out that not only is LeBron an all-time scorer in total, but he is actually very high on the list of points per game scorers over his career (27.2 ppg, for those interested).

Mike notes that the younger generation doesn't have as much memory of prime Michael Jordan and that Wizards MJ wasn’t what LeBron is today, but he still couldn’t tell you who he thinks is the better player. He does point out that LeBron’s prime has been far longer than Jordan’s and that LeBron is still playing a style that doesn’t compute with where his age is. Mike admits that he had gone to bed, but got out of bed and turned the TV on to witness history. He also said LeBron is one his favorite players of all time and despite having left the Heat, he thinks as a Heat fan that it’s cool that Miami got what could be argued were LeBron’s best years. He did say that the record coming at home in a loss to a not-so-great Thunder team is one sign of the dilution of LeBron’s greatness, as just a couple of years ago it wouldn’t matter who was around him. Now LeBron’s just not good enough to get you into the playoffs by himself anymore.

Roy asks if 40,000 points could be attainable for King James. Mike notes that LeBron has now passed the age where players start declining and LeBron seems to have not reached that point yet and it seems like LeBron could just keep playing until he becomes bored. Dan notes that LeBron is still a top-five scorer in the league and that things like his strength and durability are amazing. Dan also says that in the modern NBA, LeBron should be able to run up and down for several more years if he wants by just shooting the ball (somewhat like MJ in his Wizards tenure). But, Dan does note that in the games where LeBron reaches milestones of late, his squad often loses by double-digits to bad teams.

Finally, the show takes up the equally controversial debate of is there such a thing as bad pizza ...

SHOW BREAKDOWN

Local Hour: The Swinging Lightbulb of Interrogation

• Our Super Bowl coverage got off to an interesting start... Dan asks why we never heard a God Bless Football episode yesterday, and Witty explains the show’s editorial decision making around an interview with Dana White. Dan and the crew also discuss last night’s State of the Union and if this is the level of disconnect we can expect to see in our Nation’s politics moving forward. Plus, Chris Cote reveals a divisive greeting with his mom’s friend, Tony flaunts cultural ignorance, and we break down the awkward interaction between Stugotz and Gronk.

Hour 1: Mina Kimes and The Sand Man

• Chris Cote brings up a topic we did earlier this week, we’re joined by Raheem Mostert and Mina Kimes from Radio Row, and we react to LeBron James becoming the all time leading scorer in NBA history.

Hour 2: Seth “Freakin’” Rollins

• WWE Superstar Seth Rollins joins the program to be freakin’ awesome. Why are we comparing the greatest players of all time at their respective sports? Because LeBron. Plus, we check in on Stugotz and Billy at Radio Row.

Watch more below!

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