Reggie Miller’s Offers Shocking Rank of Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James
With NBA LeBron James heading toward the end of his historic regular 23rd season (with the Los Angeles Lakers likely to be in the playoff mix), questions continue to swirl about his future in the league. While it’s almost a sure thing that he won’t be playing for the Lakers at all next season, many basketball analysts and fans are wondering if King James will officially abdicate his throne altogether and announce his retirement in the weeks and months to come.
And of course, with retirement speculation comes the renewed conversation about James’ legacy in the NBA. For years now, there’s been an ongoing debate about James’ place among the greats, with many arguing he’s the best to ever step on a court, while others are adamant that Michael Jeffery Jordan is the GOAT of all GOATs. Recently, NBA legend Reggie Miller weighed in on the legacy and GOAT debate while on The Dan Patrick Show, and Miller got quite candid, even adding Kobe Bryant to the mix.
Reggie Miller Says, "LeBron Has Had the Best Career Out of Anyone," But Best Player Is MJ
Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
In an episode of The Dan Patrick Show that dropped on March 9, host Dan Patrick brings up in conversation an interesting point that “Kobe is Mike.” Patrick states that “LeBron is a different animal out there, but like style wise, Kobe is Mike because he patterned himself after him.”
This prompts Miller to acknowledge that people in general get caught up when engaging in the NBA GOAT debate. Getting that disclaimer out of the way, Miller then weighs in on the debate and says:
“To me, the best player of the three is MJ. Kobe is a clone and a better version, like, he’s Mike on steroids. A better jump shooter. To me, the fundamentals were better, because he perfected them to be like the master, MJ. If you’re talking about careers, the best career out of all three of those, in my opinion, is LeBron because of the longevity and what he has done eight straight finals.”
Patrick is quick to pick up on the fact that Miller put an emphasis on “career” rather than “player” when discussing James. Miller doubles down, claiming, “LeBron has had the best career out of anyone. For him to continue to play like this at this level this late in his career. But if we’re going stack for stack player, to me, MJ, Kobe, and then LeBron.”
Now it’s worth noting that Miller also concedes that he only played James in the Ohioan native’s rookie season with the Cavaliers, while he’s had extensive playing experience against Bryant. So Miler never got to play against James in his prime. Check out the discussion in the clip below.
Reggie Miller says he ranks LeBron James below Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) March 9, 2026
"If we're going stack-for-stack player – to me: MJ, Kobe, and then LeBron."
(Via @dpshow )
pic.twitter.com/iiai78ai6Z
Fans Weigh In on Reggie Miller’s GOAT Ranking
Naturally, given that this debate has always been a hot topic of discussion, NBA fans had some thoughts on Miller’s statement. Check out a few of them found on X (formerly Twitter).
How can anybody say Kobe was better than MJ in any faster than the game? We have statistics; it shouldn't be this hard. Kobe Bryant failed to clone himself after Michael Jordan. Statistically it's not even close. The efficiencies between the two are so wide
— Daniel Stopka (@Stopkad91) March 9, 2026
Kobe second is the only controversial part of this list and Reggie knows exactly what he's doing ????
— mrpurpose (@mrpurpose0) March 9, 2026
Reggie Miller knows basketball! pic.twitter.com/hFq51AWWJU
— Berry (@Bet38961207) March 9, 2026
Anyone who knows basketball would agree with Reggie. There's no way on God's green earth that I would ever put LeBron over Kobe let alone MJ
— #️⃣1️⃣ MJ #️⃣2️⃣ STEPH CURRY (@solomon_tech) March 9, 2026