Pierce leaves LeBron out of his top five NBA players of all-time

Former NBA star Paul Pierce believes LeBron James is not among the top five players in history.

The Los Angeles Lakers star is widely regarded as one of the best players ever, a debate which has raged again following the airing of 'The Last Dance', a documentary focusing on Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls.

However, Pierce refused to include James – a three-time NBA champion and four-time MVP – in his top five.

"Kareem [Abdul-Jabbar], Magic [Johnson], Jordan, Tim Duncan, Kobe [Bryant], [Larry] Bird, these guys are all top-10 players who have either helped build up their organisation or continued the tradition," the 10-time NBA All-Star told ESPN.

On James, Pierce said: "He went and put together a team in Miami, he came back to Cleveland and put that team together.

"Then he went to the Lakers, where a tradition has already been made, and that's still to be continued."

James' Lakers were 49-14 and top of the Western Conference when this season was suspended in March due to the coronavirus pandemic.