LeBron James nowhere near top five greatest players in NBA history, says Paul Pierce

Former Boston Celtics star Paul Pierce believes Los Angeles Lakers' LeBron James should be nowhere close in the running for the greatest player in the NBA. In fact, Paul Pierce doesn't fancy including LeBron James among the top five best players in NBA history. The former Celtics star took part in ESPN's NBA Countdown on Tuesday where he revealed Michael Jordan's documentary, The Last Dance, backed his opinion about the three-time NBA champion. 

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Lebron James vs Paul Pierce: Paul Pierce Top 5 players list excludes Lakers star

"I go back and I ask myself, 'What has LeBron done to build up any organization from the ground floor?'" Paul Pierce said during the show. The 42-year-old was a rival to LeBron James during his playing career and clashed frequently with the former Cleveland Cavaliers star in the Eastern Conference. Pierce does not believe LeBron James ever stuck around while an organisation was being built from the ground up.

According to Pierce, LeBron always needed a team of stars around him to do what he does best. The former Celtics star highlighted LeBron James' two NBA titles with Miami Heat with players like Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh around him. After his short stint with Heat, LeBron James rejoined the Cavaliers and led them to the championship in 2016. Pierce feels he once again had the likes of Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love around him during his second stint with in Cleveland.

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Paul Pierce Top 5 players list

The Paul Pierce Top 5 players list included Bulls legend Michael Jordan, Celtics greats Larry Bird and Bill Russell, Lakers' Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and former Spurs star Tim Duncan. The 42-year-old feels each of these players deserve the nod ahead of LeBron James because they were influential in building their respective organisations. "I’m talking about these players, top-5 players. Bill Russell built the organization of Boston, Kareem, Magic, Jordan, Tim Duncan, Kobe, Bird. These guys are all-time top 10 players who helped build their organisation or continued the tradition,” Pierce added.

Paul Pierce Top 5 players ft Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

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Lebron James vs Paul Pierce

Despite Paul Pierce thinking LeBron should not be featured in the top five best players in NBA history, the general consensus among fans is the Lakers star easily belongs among the top five greatest players. For fans of Cleveland Cavaliers, LeBron is widely regarded as one of their best players in the franchise's history, who helped the organisation win their first and only NBA championship. Now at Lakers, LeBron is part of a rebuilding roster which has not won an NBA championship in 10 years, the last being in 2010 when Kobe Bryant led the franchise. LeBron James was in championship contention during the regular season as his Lakers side were right up there with the Milwaukee Bucks as the leaders in their respective conferences.

Lebron James vs Paul Pierce: LeBron dunk on Paul Pierce

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