The Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James will appear on the Wednesday installment of “The Pat McAfee Show.” McAfee, the show’s host, teased the presence on X (previously Twitter) on Tuesday. He claims that the hour and fifteen minutes of the James episode will cover nearly everything. Tech-savvy fans had the opportunity to leak some of the Lakers star’s guesting, even though the show did not upload a clip from the broadcast.
The little video demonstrates how James and McAfee discussed how current stars used to perform. They were discussing the performance of Giannis Antetokounmpo, the star of the Milwaukee Bucks, against the opposition in the 1970s.
“You trying to tell me Giannis wouldn’t be able to play an NBA game in the 70s? Giannis would have 250 points in a game in the 70s. 250!” the Los Angeles Lakers star said.
LeBron on the Pat McAfee show:
"You trying to tell me Giannis wouldn't be able to play an NBA game in the 70s? Giannis would have 250 points in a game in the 70s. 250!" 😂 pic.twitter.com/ejahWo0vIi
— ²³𝙻𝚎𝙱𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚌𝚑𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚜🏀☄️🌎💞 (@BronGotGame) March 26, 2025
In the past, the Greek Freak has been criticized by past players. According to them, he wouldn’t be able to play at a certain level of dominance if he were in the past. Former NBA player Charles Oakley went viral for his take on the one-time champion. In February 2022, Oakley went viral for his take on Antetokounmpo.
He said that the 2020 Defensive Player of the Year would be a bench player in the past.
“He wouldn’t have been a force back in the day. … He would have struggled, they would make him shoot jump shots,” Oakley said. “He wouldn’t be doing a euro step to the basket, somebody gonna knock his head off.”
“He’d come off the bench back in the day.”
Charles Oakley says Giannis Antetokounmpo would come off the bench in his era 😯
(Via @SLAMonline | h/t @AhnFireDigital ) pic.twitter.com/K2KD1waL22
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) February 25, 2022
But regardless of the age at which Antetokounmpo plays, there have been a few players in the past who have faith in his abilities on the court. Isiah Thomas, a two-time NBA champion, refuted Oakley’s remarks against the Bucks star.
“All these guys talking about when Giannis couldn’t play and all that. Dude, Giannis going around Oakley, Giannis going around all them, he dunking on them. He bigger, he faster, he stronger,” Thomas said.
A one-time champion doesn’t think the Los Angeles Lakers star would be as successful in the 1990s as he was in the 2010s
LeBron James entered the NBA in 2003 and it was a different league. It was less physical and the pace was slow. Most stars who excelled were frontcourt players. However, the Los Angeles Lakers star managed to become one of the best players.
Rasheed Wallace, a former champion, thinks James would struggle to compete in his time, the 1990s.
“He probably would’ve done good with his physical stature, with him being bigger than the majority of the rest of the players,” Wallace explained. “So he probably would’ve held his own, but I don’t think he would be as successful as he is now. It’s a whole different era back then. I couldn’t necessarily say that he would’ve been a beast, but I think he would’ve held his own.”
Since the rules are different and no one can gauge how someone could function outside of their time, it is unfair to compare James’ accomplishments in a different era.
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Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen on Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
