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Stephen A. Smith names the two biggest things he holds against LeBron James as a basketball player, blaming him for the decline of the NBA Slam Dunk Contest and questioning why he never developed a true on court rivalry with another superstar. Smith argues that LeBron’s decision to never participate in the Slam Dunk Contest influenced other NBA stars to stay away, hurting one of the biggest attractions of All Star Weekend. He points to legends like Kobe Bryant, Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady as examples of elite players who embraced the competition. His second criticism is that LeBron has never had a consistent individual nemesis, someone who matches up against him and brings genuine hostility and competitiveness every time they meet. Smith says the rivalry with Stephen Curry was more about the teams than two players going head to head because they play different positions and have completely different physical profiles. He believes the closest moments came when Kevin Durant joined Golden State and faced LeBron in the NBA Finals, or when LeBron first teamed up with Dwyane Wade in Miami. For Smith, the intense buildup to the Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics matchup is exactly the kind of individual rivalry and competitive tension he wishes LeBron had brought to the game.

Gilbert Arenas takes Skip Bayless’ all-time Top 10 list, which had LeBron ranked 10th or 11th, and applies the same criteria to every other NBA great. Surprisingly, LeBron comes out at No. 1. Arenas also says Jordan fans are “broken and outdated” for refusing to accept the changing standards of greatness.

By @NoChillGilZero definition I am a Honda with a ring hanging from rearview mirror and he is a Bentley with plush dice hanging. I’m cool with that tho 😭🍿 make sure to tune into @GilsArenaShow

Iman Shumpert and DeMarcus Cousins argue over who would you take on your team to win a Championship Norris Cole or Allen Iverson: DeMarcus: You just told me that Iverson was a loser and you only want winners. So you want Norris Cole instead of Iverson? Iman: By definition how many rings does Allen Iverson have? It’s not my definition when you talk about champions is Allen Iverson apart of the conversation? Yes or no? He’s not because he is a loser. Allen Iverson did not win that is a fact, I’m not saying Norris Cole is better than Allen Iverson.”

Kevin Garnett says it pains him to watch players like Evan Mobley, Paolo Banchero and Bam Adebayo just go through the motion, and it leaves him wondering what they worked on over the summer: “I used Bam because I love watching him. I like his style, but I’m watching the league of young guys. I’m watching Mobley. I’m watching Bam. And each time I watch him, I see him with guys who never played in the league, and I go, ‘Damn, I want to see what Evan Mobley, Bam, and Paolo brought this year that’s going to make them one of the best bigs this year.’ “So I’m sitting here articulating the league, and I get so disappointed when I go away with what I’m expecting to see vs. what I’m looking at. That tells me you did nothing in the summer. “Listen, I know what goes on in the summer. Listen, I know when you go work on something. When you have an injury in April, I know when you get to July, you don’t have an injury anymore. I’m just holding this league accountable. From guys to go from 1.0 to 2.0, you got to work with a player that emulates somebody that gives you league shit to take you to an advantage.”