The legendary former point guard of the Detroit Pistons believes that the current Los Angeles Lakers forward has had an even better career than MJ.

The debate over the greatest NBA player of all time, centered on Michael Jordan and LeBron James, always sparks strong opinions. And Isiah Thomas is no exception.

The former point guard, who won two championships with the Detroit Pistons—the only team he played for in the elite league—didn’t hesitate to share his view. His opinion is especially intriguing given his well-known differences with MJ.

WHAT DID ISIAH SAY?

“I believe that when you look at it, as I said, (James) is at the top and leads in almost every category. He has surpassed Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar) in scoring. I think he has the most points in the playoffs. Not only that, but when we look at assists, I know where I stand on the all-time assists record. I think he has surpassed me; I believe he has even surpassed Magic (Johnson) for the top spot in assists.”

“When we talk about passing, scoring, rebounding, we’ve never had a player in the NBA who leads in all these categories and is at the top in some of these stats we’re discussing. There’s never been another player like him,” Thomas told mlive.com, referring to LeBron.

Thomas, who was selected for 12 All-Star Games in his 13 seasons in the league, continued to argue in favor of the current Los Angeles Lakers forward, who has won one championship with the Lakers, another with the Cleveland Cavaliers, and two with the Miami Heat.

“Everyone has their favorites, but if the numbers don’t lie, they don’t lie. So for me, he’s the best I’ve seen both from a team perspective and as a basketball player,” concluded the 1990 Finals MVP, whose rivalry with Jordan is said to have gone beyond sports. It’s rumored that the former Chicago Bulls star blocked the Pistons’ leader from joining the Dream Team for the 1992 Olympics.