LeBron James is widely considered to be the best basketball player of his time. For that reason, he is often compared to other great players who came before him, such as Magic Johnson or Michael Jordan.

But another Hall of Famer thinks that he belongs in the discussion as well: “I was LeBron James before LeBron James,” Scottie Pippen recently told the Northeast Ohio Media Group. “It’s not even close.”

Pippen was talking about the specific skills he and James display on court, as compared with those of players such as Jordan and Johnson.

Of course, after playing alongside Jordan for six Chicago Bulls championships, Pippen is used to being overlooked in such discussions.


“I’m no slouch, but when comparing LeBron’s game, I’m usually left out,” Pippen said.

He added: “They want to compare [James] to the greatest, whether it be Michael Jordan or Magic Johnson, but he’s more closer to myself. It’s natural for folks to say that, but if you look at how he plays the game and how I played the game, you’ll see more similarities with us.”

Twitter: @chewkiii