LeBron James is widely considered to be the greatest player of the current generation and many even rate him as heir apparent to take over from Michael Jordan as the greatest ever NBA player. But Skip Bayless of Fox Sports believes none of that.

The NBA insider believes the Los Angeles Lakers star should give up on chasing Jordan to become the greatest ever and start worrying about getting passed on the list to be the second best player in the history of the game by Kevin Durant. Bayless is certain that the Golden State Warriors forward is already ahead of James in terms of the level of their game when it comes to the crunch encounters.

The 67-year-old television personality was speaking recently on the “Skip and Shannon” show on Fox Sports and made the claim after Durant’s yet another game changing performance in Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals. He is averaging over 30 points in the playoffs for the Warriors and is again leading from the front as he looks to win his third straight NBA championship ring.

LeBron James and Kevin Durant
Kevin Durant (R) is looking to overtake LeBron James as the best in the NBA at the moment. In this picture, James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers handles the ball against Durant #35 of the Golden State Warriors in the second half during Game Four of the 2018 NBA Finals at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, June 8, 2018. Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

Durant is a two-time NBA Finals MVP and after a quiet first two games in the first round of the NBA Playoffs against the Los Angeles Clippers, he has since scored 29 points or more in the last six games. Bayless believes he has now “eclipsed” James as the best player on the planet and is at a level the former Cleveland Cavaliers star has never known.

"We've known for 2 years now that Kevin Durant has eclipsed LeBron James as the best player on the planet,” Bayless said on the “Skip and Shannon” show. “He's taken it up to a level nobody has ever seen before. LeBron James has never known this level."

"He [LeBron] has never known the ability to just rise up over anybody at any moment and make a jump shot," Bayless added. "LeBron can't do that."

Shannon Sharpe vehemently disagreed with Bayless’ viewpoint and challenged him to have the same enthusiasm and opinion when next season gets underway and James in his second season with the Lakers leads them back to the playoffs and makes them a contender. The latter continued to underrate James as just a few hours later suggested that he is currently the second best athlete in his Brentwood, Los Angeles area as Tom Brady is spending time at UCLA during the NFL offseason.

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