A seemingly increasing number of people feel LeBron James is the greatest player in NBA history. An even higher number of people consider him to be one of the two or three greatest players the game has ever seen.

However, where he actually falls on the list of the greatest basketball players of all time is a definite debate. James himself once chimed in when he said that the comeback his Cleveland Cavaliers made in the 2016 NBA Finals after trailing the series 3-1 probably made him the greatest of all time (G.O.A.T.).

That boast has bothered some people, and it also hasn’t helped that his agent, Rich Paul, has publicly referred to him as the greatest ever.

Charles Barkley, who was once a great player in his own right, said on “The Bill Simmons Podcast” that he hates how James and James’ camp feel it is an insult to not call the four-time NBA champion the greatest ever (h/t Lakers Daily).

“That’s the only thing I hate about LeBron,” Barkley said. “First of all, he’s a great, great player. He’s an amazing person, really nice guy. But for him and his guys, if you don’t say he’s the greatest ever, it’s like you committing treason.

“… But that’s the only thing I don’t like about LeBron and his guys. They’re like, if you don’t say he’s the greatest thing since sliced bread, they hate you. And it’s really sad.”

Recently, David Falk, Michael Jordan’s agent, said publicly that he considers Jordan to be the greatest player ever, followed by either Kareem Abdul-Jabbar or Kobe Bryant, while saying that if Jordan had cherry-picked his teams as James had, Jordan would have won 15 rings. Paul fired back by saying Jordan never had to leave the Chicago Bulls in order to win championships.

Another time, ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith said that James is the second-greatest player in NBA history, but that Paul told him that ranking James second is an insult.

Other than his 4-6 record in the NBA Finals, James has assembled a resume that is almost second-to-none in league history. He’s the league’s all-time leading scorer and has the greatest longevity of any basketball player in history, and he just wrapped up a stellar 22nd season in which he was named to both the All-Star team and the All-NBA Second Team. When the new season starts, he will set a new league record by starting his 23rd season.

However, declaring oneself or one’s client the greatest ever is something that should probably be avoided and should instead be left to fans and pundits on the outside.