Carmelo Anthony Loves LeBron James' Recent GOAT Comments

LeBron James was featured on the cover of Time Magazine’s recent 100 Most Influential People in Sports issue, sitting down with the publication for an exclusive interview.

James was asked about his position among the NBA‘s all-time greats. And in his response, the league’s all-time leading scorer shared a confident perspective.

"I'm not taking nobody over me," James said. "There's no question. But I think [Michael Jordan] will say the same thing. Rest his soul, Kobe [Bryant] will say the same thing. Magic [Johnson] will say the same thing. [Larry] Bird will say the same thing. [Shaquille O’Neal] could say the same thing. The late great Wilt [Chamberlain]. Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar].

“I don't think none of us are going to take somebody else. If there's a general manager and he's eyeballing all of us on a baseline, with the No. 1 pick, it's gonna be hard not to take me, champ."

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Carmelo Anthony, James’ longtime friend and 2003 NBA Draft classmate, loved this response.

“He’s in a state now where it’s like ‘I don’t have to prove nothing to anybody,'” Anthony said. “I love this comment. … Competitively, I’m not going to say someone is better than me.”

“In his situation, there’s no way he could sit there and say ‘Somebody is better than me,'” Anthony added.

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James, 41, is an unrestricted free agent this offseason. As he approaches his 24th NBA season, he can either retire, re-sign with the Lakers or take his talents to another NBA team.

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This story was originally published June 10, 2026 at 1:35 PM.