It’s been about three and a half months since Charles Barkley said he’d consider LeBron James the GOAT if he wins in Philadelphia. He’s since found very little agreement within the NBA world. The NBA player who won two titles alongside LeBron James is one of them. Off to a great start to his 24th NBA season in pursuit of a fifth championship ring with the Philadelphia 76ers, King James’ place atop the all-time basketball hierarchy remains a strictly guarded territory for one of his former teammates, Mario Chalmers.

Chalmers, who spent four seasons alongside James during the Miami Heat’s “Big Three” era, was recently at Miami’s Got Sole sneaker event in October. An interviewer held LeBron and Michael Jordan cards to him and asked him an open-ended, “LeBron or Mike,” question. One of his friends even said, “Uh-oh. Careful. You’re on video right now.”

Regardless, Chalmers picked the Jordan card, which surprised the interviewer. So he asked, “If LeBron goes and wins a championship in Philly this year, does he enter that conversation with Mike?”

Chalmers this time had a clear “No.” When the interviewer asked if two rings in Philly, to get King James’ ring count to six, would sweeten the deal. But Chalmers shook his head.

When asked to elaborate, he doubled down on his stance that no amount of late-career silverware will elevate James above the 6x NBA champion, Michael Jordan.

The interviewer pressed further, asking if there was anything left James could realistically accomplish to surpass His Airness. Chalmers offered a nuanced distinction while holding his ground.

“He’s his own GOAT,” Chalmers explained. Yet, “Certain people, it cannot be touched. That’s just what it is.”

By ‘certain people,’ Chalmers means Michael Jordan.

Chalmers’ insistence that MJ remains untouchable carries extra weight given his front-row seat to James’ peak physical and basketball evolution. Together in Miami from 2010 to 2014, Chalmers and James reached four consecutive NBA Finals, winning back-to-back championships in 2012 and 2013.

Yet, despite watching James dominate the league firsthand, Chalmers favors Jordan’s flawless 6–0 NBA Finals record and unmatched scoring killer instinct over James’ longevity and playmaking prowess.

Since James went to Philadelphia, which now boasts a stacked roster since acquiring Jaylen Brown via trade alongside Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid, and VJ Edgecombe, fans are already leaning into the idea that Bron is locked for a fifth chip. It’s now escalated to whether matching Kobe Bryant or Michael Jordan will be enough to get him into that conversation.

76ers legend Charles Barkley is willing to give James that mantle.

“If he wins back-to-back championships and walks away from this thing at 44-45. I’ll say something I ain’t never said before. This dude, I think I just saw the greatest basketball player ever,” Barkley stated in July, shortly after James announced his decision to sign with the Sixers. “If he wins two more, I think you have to be kind of crazy not to say he’s the best to ever do it. Now, we’re talking a long way, brother. Listen, at his age, he’s got to stay healthy. It’s a long NBA season.”

Chuck fueled this debate on whether James’ success in Philly could elevate him in the all-time conversation. For most, it’s not enough. Another one of James’ teammates, Danny Green, had similar views to Chalmers.

“His legacy is where it’s at. You getting a championship as the third or fourth option is not going to make people say, ‘Oh, you’re the GOAT now.’ Tyrese Maxey and Jaylen Brown are the best players on that team. Then it’s Joel Embiid, then it’s LeBron James. You are now the fourth option. So, do you think him winning a championship as the fourth option makes his legacy more solidified as the GOAT? I don’t think so. It is what it is at this point. Winning a fifth ring would be nice, but you aren’t the main guy, so nobody’s going to look at you or give you extra credit for doing this,” Green said.

James, meanwhile, continues to build an unprecedented case anchored in historic endurance. And as Chalmers said, it doesn’t matter because the NBA’s all-time leading scorer pretty much declared, “I’m not taking nobody over me,” and he’s happy about that.