“First of all, [the Top 5 conversation] originally had nothing to do with him – it was a conversation about Kobe Bryant,” Barkley said. “And I said, ‘I’m never going to change my top five players of all time.’ Kobe is 6. Tim Duncan is 7. I said if LeBron keeps winning, I might move him up to 6 or 7.

“But in my mind, as a guy who knows the heritage of the game, my top five are never gonna change. It’s Michael, Oscar, Kareem, Wilt and Bill Russell."