Boxing

Terence Crawford Disses LeBron James With NBA GOAT Ranking

Terence Crawford doesn't seem to believe LeBron James deserves to be in the NBA GOAT debate.
Grant Young|
Matt Blewett-Imagn Images

The boxing community seems to agree that Terence Crawford has cemented himself as the greatest boxer of this modern generation after his September 13 victory over Canelo Alvarez.

With this victory, Crawford took Canelo's undisputed super middleweight belts and became the first male boxer to become an undisputed champion in three different weight divisions.

The only person who has fought this century who could potentially compete with Crawford's resumé at this point is Floyd Mayweather. However, some prefer to differentiate between the generations that Crawford and Mayweather fought in, despite the fact that their respective careers overlapped for several years.

Regardless, Crawford has cemented himself as an all-time great. And there's a case to be made that he would be on boxing's Mount Rushmore, which is the same as saying he's one of the four greatest boxers of all time.

Terence Crawford speaks to media on September 13, 2025.
Terence Crawford speaks to media on September 13, 2025. | IMAGO / Hoganphotos

In this regard, Crawford can be compared to NBA legend LeBron James. Not only is James undoubtedly the greatest player of his generation, but there's a great case to be made that the four-time NBA champion, four-time NBA MVP, the 21-time NBA All-Star, and the record holder for most points scored in NBA history is also the league's greatest player of all time (or GOAT, per the popular acronym).

Terence Crawford Puts LeBron James In His Place With NBA GOAT Stance

Most basketball fans agree that their sport's GOAT status is between LeBron and the legendary Michael Jordan, who won six NBA championships in his iconic career. However, Terence Crawford doesn't even believe James is No. 2 behind Jordan, which he revealed when speaking with ALL THE SMOKE FIGHT podcast.

"Jordan No. 1, Kobe [Bryant] No. 2 Lebron No. 3," Crawford said when ranking these three basketball legends, per an X post from @Thetruth8240.

He then added, "I think Jordan, he's a killer, he's a monster. And I think Kobe learned from Jordan. And I think LeBron learned from Kobe and Jordan. Jordan paved the way for Kobe. Kobe, even though he played with LeBron, he paved the way for LeBron, as well."

Crawford (who is a huge basketball fan and plays recreationally whenever he gets the chance) putting Kobe above LeBron on this list is sure to turn some heads. While Kobe is an all-time great in his own right, most fans feel like he's on a tier lower than LeBron and Michael Jordan.

But this whole debate is subjective, of course, as is any boxing GOAT or pound-for-pound ranking. But it's still interesting to see Crawford placing LeBron at No. 3.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young is a Staff Writer for On SI’s Boxing, New York Mets, Indiana Fever, and Women’s Fastbreak sites. Before joining SI in 2024, he wrote for various boxing and sports verticals such as FanBuzz and NY Fights. Young has a bachelor’s degree in marketing and a master’s degree in creative writing with an emphasis on sports nonfiction from the University of San Francisco, where he played five seasons of Division 1 baseball. He fought Muay Thai professionally in Thailand in 2023, loves a good essay, and is driven crazy trying to handle a pitpull puppy named Aura. Young lives in San Diego and was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area.