Isiah Thomas: LeBron's the GOAT for his play, social activism

LeBron James said before the season that he was chasing the ghost of Michael Jordan, but one of Jordan's greatest adversaries already sees James in the lead.

Hall of Fame point guard Isiah Thomas, who dismissed Jordan three times in the playoffs, called James the best player of all time when taking into account on- and off-court contributions.

Thomas made his point on NBA TV after James spoke to how racism continues to afflict blacks in America on Wednesday.

"LeBron James has always used his platform and his voice to shine it on communities and on the powerless in our society," Thomas said. "In this moment right here, he has moved, in my opinion, into the greatest ever."

Thomas made the point that James' willingness to use his platform to speak to social issues, and his many charitable deeds, puts him a pantheon with Muhammad Ali, Oscar Robertson, Bill Russell, and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. In that regard, James also stands out in stark contrast to the famously apolitical Jordan.

"Why? Because what he's done in the game and what he's doing outside of the game. Muhammad Ali, we say he is the greatest, only because of the social stances that he took, the prices that he paid.

"When I think of the Kareem Abdul-Jabbars, and the Bill Russells. Bill Russell playing in Boston in a time where we are racially segregated schools, racially segregated drinking fountains in some places in this country. The Oscar Robertsons and the Bill Russells, they stood tall and they spoke for a generation so we can be sitting on a platform like this today."

James, who has repeatedly spoken about police violence against blacks, has secured full-ride college scholarships for an entire high school, worked with the NBA Players' Association to secure health coverage for retired players, and donated $2.5 million to the Smithsonian for a Muhammad Ali exhibit all in the last three years alone.

"What LeBron James just did today for this generation and generations to come, on this day, what he just stood for and what he just did socially with that press conference, he's the greatest player to ever play the game," Thomas concluded.