Cleveland Cavaliers legend Richard Jefferson believes that Karl Malone is superior to Charles Barkley as a legendary player without a championship ring. The former champion strongly believes that Malone is a better pick than Barkley simply because of their differences in work ethic.
Richard Jefferson saw Charles Barkley as a bad example, while Karl Malone had traits of being a role model to aspiring basketball players. While there may be some truth behind Jefferson’s sentiments, not everyone sees it in the same light.
Fans on social media couldn’t help but share their thoughts on Jefferson’s comparison between Malone and Barkley. Here’s what some said on X.
"Somebody investigate Richard Jefferson real quick bruh cmon now bruh"
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"Choosing Karl Malone for “professionalism” while casually skipping over why he’s controversial is wild"
Here are other fan reactions on X:
"From a basketball perspective? Not even a question," one said.
"Barkley was miles better than the postman. Professionalism is crucial though. Can’t have a losing locker room attitude though," another said.
"Hard to disagree with the take even if you don't care for how he worded it. But these two are close though, in pure talent, you can argue that you get more versatility with Charles," another said.
"yeah ok rj... malone was such a good role model," another said.
Richard Jefferson's thoughts on Karl Malone
Karl Malone has established himself as one of the greatest big men to play in NBA history. However, Charles Barkley is another big man who is considered to be one of the best. With that in mind, why does Richard Jefferson consider Malone to be better than Barkley?
As mentioned earlier, Jefferson strongly believed in Malone's more professional ways compared to Barkley. Based on how Jefferson sees the Mailman, Malone had more drive to play the sport. Barkley was out of shape, prioritizing food and partying over anything during his career. Unlike Malone, who was at the gym, working on his game and his physique every day.
“The reason why I would pick Karl Malone over Charles is because of the level of professionalism that Malone always approached," Jefferson said. "When Charles was in Philly, he was in and out of shape, and then he would — some of his off-the-court partying that we knew about…I'm saying Charles was a rebel. He's not a role model. ... But I'm saying, when you look at a guy like Malone who trained for eight hours a day, he played for 19 years." (TS- 3:00)
Karl Malone went on to place third in the all-time scoring list with 36,928 points. Before LeBron James broke Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's record, Malone sat in second place for the longest time. That feat alone shows how much hard work and dedication the Mailman has put in to be among the greats.
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