LeBron James is headed to the Philadelphia 76ers on a two-year, $8 million contract. Some former players, like Chris Bosh, do not see any problem with the future Hall of Famer signing with a championship contender to chase one more ring.
However, not everyone shares this stance. One former NBA champion thinks James’ decision changes his legacy.
Byron Scott Views LeBron James’ Decision in a Negative Light
Byron Scott played on the Los Angeles Lakers for 11 seasons in his 14-year NBA career. He won three championships with the team. After retiring, he became head coach of the Lakers from 2014 to 2016. James arrived in Los Angeles two years later, but both guys have strong connections to the Lakers’ rich history.
Scott coached the late Kobe Bryant and served as a mentor to the Hall of Famer in his 1996-97 rookie campaign. James played eight seasons in Los Angeles and brought the 2020 championship title to the city. However, he informed the Lakers he would not be returning at the start of free agency in June.
Scott thinks James’ decision to join the 76ers dents his GOAT status.
“Most of us judge LeBron based on the guys that you just mentioned, and I’ll throw one more guy in there, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He got traded from Milwaukee to LA, right? So two teams in his whole career. [Michael Jordan] two teams, basically, in his whole career. So when you’re judging LeBron, you’re looking at the greatest players of all time and what they did at those organizations … they basically never left,” said Scott on Byron Scott’s Fast Break.
Scott bluntly summarized his stance on why James signing with different franchises affects his GOAT status, regardless of his on-court greatness.
“When you start to really unravel everything, that’s not what great players do … We’re going to critique it. We’re going to talk about it,” Scott commented.
Byron Scott on LeBron James being considered the GOAT, he says great players don’t join multiple teams:
“Most of us judge LeBron based on the guys that you just mentioned and I’ll throw one more guy in there Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and he got traded from Milwaukee to LA, right? So… pic.twitter.com/kfTr2FvnIV
— NBA Courtside (@NBA__Courtside) August 10, 2026
The former Lakers head coach thinks James gets judged harsher than Jordan and Abdul-Jabbar because he will play for his fifth different team, taking into account the 22-time All-Star’s two stints with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
They drafted him with the No. 1 pick in the 2003 draft, and he signed with his hometown franchise again from 2014 to 2018 before heading to the Lakers.
Scott never questions James’ on-court play or numbers. The 41-year-old remains the league’s all-time leading scorer at 43,440 points. He ranks fourth all-time in assists with 12,016 and sixth in steals at 2,417 for his career.
Other than being a top-tier sharpshooter from beyond the arc, James can do everything on the floor at a high level, while being the oldest player in the league. He averaged 20.9 points, 7.2 assists, 6.1 rebounds, and 1.2 steals last season.
