Charles Barkley makes his feelings clear on "weak journalism" around LeBron James vs Michael Jordan debate

The GOAT conversation between Michael Jordan and LeBron James is by far the longest running debate in the NBA. From championships and stat comparisons to longevity, the two basketball legends have been able to largely split NBA fansbases among themselves.

In a video posted by Clutch Points on X from "The Steam Room" podcast, Barkley weighed on the debate between Jordan and LeBron. The NBA legend alluded to the 30-point games stat Jordan still leads James in.

The Suns legend said even though he didn't want to get into the GOAT debate between Jordan and LeBron, the former having more 30-point games than the LA Lakers star was "astonishing."

"I was kind of shocked the other night when Ernie said to stat," Barkley said. "I don't get into the debate between Michael and LeBron because I think it's weak journalism. When guys on television or radio are trying to get fools to call in the order."

"They are both great-great-great-great-great. Michael Jordan's the best basketball player I ever played against. These young kids, they played against LeBron. I was caught off-guard last week when Ernie said [LBJ was just a few games behind Jordan in 30-point scoring games]."

"And I was like, 'And he's played, like, seven more years?' That's an astonishing stat. As great as LeBron is, he's still behind Michael Jordan in 30-point games, and he's played seven more seasons. That is astonishing. Even if you think LeBron is the GOAT, you wouldn't have known that."

"And I'm never gonna say anything bad about LeBron, because he's an amazing man and a hell of a player."

Barkley might be right, but perhaps not in the entirety of the picture. Jordan and James are different players in terms of style. While Jordan's game was more focued on scoring and defense, James has been a pass-first player. He has almost twice as many career assists as Jordan.

Moreover, the Lakers star has scored points more efficiently [50.6% FG and 34.8% 3-Point] than the Bulls legend [49.7% FG and 32.7% 3-Point]. James has been a consistant presence for over two decades.

Barkley says LeBron has the greatest sports story in history

On Dec. 6, Barkely appeared on the "Come And Talk 2 Me" podcast. While discussing his take in the debate between Jordan and James, Barkley leaned to Jordan's side.

However, the former NBA player gave the Lakers star his flowers. Barkley said the four-time champion has had the greatest career story in sports history.

"I will say this about LeBron James; I think his career has been the greatest sports story in sports history," Barkley began saying. "What I mean by that, Blue, is people forget Kobe Bryant struggled in the beginning. Kevin Garnett struggled. McGrady struggled. All the young guys struggled. The only guy who didn’t struggle was LeBron. He came in and played well right away.

"To come in at 18 and be ready to play and live up to the hype and pass the hype, I think is the greatest sports story ever.

In Year 22 of his illustrious NBA career, James is still playing elite basketball. He is averaging 23.0 points per game while shooting 49.5% from the field and 35.9% from the 3-point line. He is third in the league in assists per game at 9.1.