As LeBron James passes Karl Malone in all-time scoring, fans are starting to question who the real GOAT is. King James is about 1400 points away from taking the all-time scoring crown. Given his recent averages, LeBron will probably pass Kareem during the 2022-23 season.?

Though will this make King James the GOAT? For such comparisons, players? time in the league is also to be considered. LeBron is playing in his 19th season, whereas Michael Jordan retired after playing 15 seasons. And Kobe Bryant had played a total of 20 NBA seasons. All three of these athletes show their love for the game and their competitive spirit of wanting more.?

NBA Hall of Famer Shaquille O?Neal had an indirect answer to this GOAT discussion.

Shaq?s take on LeBron James? accomplishments

In a recent episode of The Big Barbershop Talk, Shaq gave his logical answer while comparing LeBron?s numbers to Jordan and Kobe. He says though players like Kobe and Kareem spent more time in the league than LeBron, King James still passed them in scoring.

He explained his logic with a great example.

?Okay, so… let?s just say we got 10 million views on our podcast, right. And somebody else has 8 million views. But they?ve been around longer and they?re more famous,? said Shaq.?

?How can they be better than us, when we already passed them up in views, right?.?

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It’s clear that LeBron has not yet played more seasons than Kareem and Kobe. Though he still passed Kobe Bryant in scoring and is yet to leave Kareem behind.

“He’s not a scorer, he’s not a go-to guy. But he passed them up in points, so…” added O’Neal.

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Making all these statements, Shaq did not make a straightforward GOAT claim. As he said, “I don’t know, I’m not gonna answer that. To me, Mike is my… Dr. J is my guy, period.”?

LeBron’s incredible impact on the game

Shaq continues to talk about different eras, and who dominated in each of them. The GOAT discussion is currently hot among fans, but the job’s not done for King James. GOAT or not, LeBron’s impact on basketball has been immeasurable, especially in this particular era. There’s a good chance of LeBron being the all-time scoring leader next season.

Will LeBron James be able to add another ring to his list of accomplishments? Let us know in the comments!