Former NBA guard Mario Chalmers recently claimed that nobody feared LeBron James. Chalmers and James played together in Miami, winning two championships in four NBA Finals appearances.
On "First Things First" on Fox Sports, the crew consisting of Chris Broussard, Kevin Wildes, Nick Wright and Antoine Walker discussed Chalmers' comments. Broussard offered an interesting analogy from an NBA player who compared James and Kobe Bryant to boxers Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Mike Tyson, respectively.
"One player who is an All-Star guard, who played against Kobe and LeBron, told me this," Broussard said. "He said, 'Look, it was like the difference in fighting Mike Tyson and Floyd Mayweather Jr. You know you're going to lose to both because they're both great, but it's going to hurt more to fight Tyson than Floyd.
"Floyd will beat you, but he's not going to hurt you. That's the feeling with LeBron. I do think Chalmers is right. It's not really a greatness thing. It's just when a dude is going for your jugular against a dude that's going to outplay you."
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LeBron James and Kobe Bryant are two of the greatest players in history. They're always going to be compared to each other, as they were part of the same generation. At one point in time, Bryant was the best player in the world before James surpassed him.
As for the boxing analogy, Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Mike Tyson are two of the greatest boxers ever. However, they're fighters with different styles and fought in different weight classes. Mayweather was known for his overall skill, speed and technique, while Tyson was a force of nature who knocked people out with his sheer power.
What did Mario Chalmers say about LeBron James?
LeBron James and Mario Chalmers might have won two NBA championships together, but their relationship has been complicated. At one point during their time as teammates, the two almost came to blows on the bench after Chalmers called James a "bitch".
On "InShamblesPod," Chalmers discussed James and compared him with Michael Jordan. The two-time champ said nobody feared "The King", while Jordan was universally feared during his prime.
"Nobody fears 'Bron," Chalmers said. "Nobody's like, 'Damn, I gotta go play against 'Bron tonight.' Nobody said that. I don't know why because I seen people be scared when they actually lined up to him, but they're not scared thinking about that matchup, right?
"You hear anybody from that era talk about going against Jordan, there's a fear. So when you have people that fear a player, then that's telling you something different already. Like, Jordan is just that guy."
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