Michael Jordan didn’t think very highly of LeBron James back in the day.
although LeBron James is certainly a close second. Over the years, Jordan hasn’t had very much acknowledgment of LeBron and doesn’t seem too interested in having much of a relationship with him. Perhaps much of this has to do with the fact that Jordan is a competitor who doesn’t want to associate himself with someone who could take over his position as the GOAT.
In fact, Jordan didn’t have much faith in LeBron, from the start. In a recently unearthed newspaper clipping from before LeBron was drafted, Jordan claimed that LeBron had potential although he would most likely be in the lower tier of shooting guards and small forwards. He even went so far as to say that LeBron had yet to play against men and that it would be an extremely uphill climb before he could be truly great.
Of course, all of this was proven false when LeBron entered the league as he was a superstar right out of the gate. LeBron became the league’s most dominant player in very short order and at 35 years old, he remains the face of the NBA. Needless to say, Jordan isn’t much of a talent evaluator although his career as an executive has proven that already.