Barkley: Jordan and Kobe are "deadly", but James is a "good guy"

On September 4, NBA retired star Charles Barkley talked about his three greatest players in his mind - Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James on a podcast, and pointed out the essential difference in their game mentality. In addition, he also included Thunder star Shay Gilgers-Alexander in the discussion.

Barkley said: "The three greatest players I have ever met in my life are Jordan, Kobe and James. I can tell you the biggest difference between the three. Jordan and Kobe are the most 'fatal' and they will defeat their opponents without mercy on the court. But James is different. I am not a belittler. He is very outstanding, but he is a 'good guy'."

Barkley added: "I think Alexander is an extremely good player. But in my opinion, he is more like James, he is a 'good guy', and he doesn't want to defeat you on the court. That's the essential difference."

Barkley believes that the reason why Jordan and Kobe are different is their nearly ruthless "killer instinct."