'I'd probably go with Tim Duncan' - When Scottie Pippen left LeBron James off his all-time starting five

At one point or another, every NBA Hall of Famer has been asked which players make up their all-time starting five. Often seen as a controversial topic, there is always backlash on who is left out when a legend gives their take.

Of course, there really shouldn't be any issues with who a player chooses in their all-time starting five, given that it's purely subjective and riddled with personal bias, but that's exactly what happened to Chicago Bulls legend Scottie Pippen when he left LeBron James out in favor of Tim Duncan.

Appearing on ESPN First Take alongside hosts Stephen A Smith and Max Kellerman at the time, Pippen was asked if he agreed with an all-time modern lineup of Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, Michael Jordan, Shaquille O'Neal, and LeBron James. Needless to say, his amendment was nothing short of jaw-dropping.

"I know people would hate me for this, but I'd probably go with Tim Duncan," he said.

Pippen's pick

As the muted boos echoed throughout the live crowd, Pippen had some explaining to do. Luckily for him, it seemed his pick was based on position preference at the power forward rather than believing that Duncan was a better all-time player than LeBron.

Then again, you can never be too sure with Scottie, who has made it a mission to give controversial takes since retiring from the Association—not recognizing Michael Jordan as the GOAT, despite winning six championships as his teammate, is still at the top of the list.

Nevertheless, it's not an indictment on James, given that Duncan is widely considered the greatest power forward to ever live.

Ready for the hate

Pippen prefaced his controversial take with the understanding that LeBron fans would definitely come for him. After all, when an NBA superstar reaches the stature of James, he inevitably builds a cult-like following that does everything in their power to defend his honor.

In that way, it's fitting that Pippen was already preparing himself for the backlash, even if his decision was the wrong one. Then again, he isn't the only all-time great to ignore James' greatness—Julius "Dr.J" Erving did it when he left LeBron off his all-time teams.

"My first team is Oscar Robertson and Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, and Elgin Baylor. That second team is Magic, Michael, Larry, Karl Malone Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Those guys would be my second team, and a lot of people would argue that guys like LeBron would be on my third team. When you look at LeBron and everybody, that sort of pick to be his teammates, so you know, playing with so many guys. He is the guy that lead the charge in terms of superteams being put together. When he put a team together in Miami, he put a team together in Cleveland as well and a team in Los Angeles. So he could pick his own team," he said.

To be fair to Erving and Pippen, these comments were made before LeBron added to his legacy by breaking countless NBA records—becoming an all-time leading scorer is one of them—and showcasing an unprecedented level of greatness 22 years into his NBA run. Then again, even those feats might not be enough to change their minds.