NBA Legend Calls Out Players For Being ‘Jealous' of LeBron James

LeBron James continues to prove he’s among the all-time greats in the history of basketball, and easily on the short list of NBA legends, but it seems not all NBA players are sharing those sentiments.

Appearing on the “Run It Back” podcast, NBA legend Isiah Thomas sounded off about players refusing to admit to LeBron’s greatness, calling them “jealous” of King James’ basketball accomplishments.

Chandler Parsons, one of the podcast’s co-hosts, mentioned to Thomas how they had several players from his generation list their top five players of all time, and LeBron wasn’t on the list. He asked Thomas what the “disconnect” is between players and LeBron.

"They intentionally ignore the obvious, and when you intentionally ignore the obvious, then it has to come back to some jealousy, or some envy, or just some straight-up BS," Thomas said.

"This man got every basketball record on the books and he ain't in your top five, you're full of [expletive]," he said.

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Thomas is 100% right with the assessment, and certainly has spent time on the court against several of the game’s greatest of all time, including legends like Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson.

He previously battled with both players as part of the “Bad Boys” Detroit Pistons, who claimed back-to-back championships in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Despite their intense rivalry, Thomas would give MJ a nod on his all-time greatest players list with LeBron.

Many people will argue that Jordan is the all-time greatest basketball player, which is a fair opinion. Still, LeBron James appears right up there with him as a very close second due to his impressive basketball resume.

He's a four-time NBA champion, four-time NBA Finals MVP, four-time MVP, 23-time NBA All-Star, and 13-time All-NBA First Team selection. LeBron also achieved many all-time records, including surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for most points scored in an NBA career.

And King James may not be done yet, as many are speculating he will return for his 24th NBA season. It may be close to the end of his career, but he's still playing basketball at a very high level after putting so many hours into his craft.

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This story was originally published June 12, 2026 at 11:30 PM.