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Scottie Pippen accused LeBron James of not being willing to have the ball in the hands when the Lakers need him to step up.

Pippen says LeBron lacks Jordan's 'clutch gene'

Scottie Pippen says LeBron James lacks the "clutch gene" that Michael Jordan had and questioned the Los Angeles Lakers superstar's desire.

Six-time NBA champion Pippen last year stated that James is "right there" in terms of statistics compared to Jordan, but said it was unfair to compare the two.

The Hall of Famer appears to have changed his mind after being asked again who is the greatest.

"When I look at LeBron, he's not what Michael was as a player," Pippen said during an NBA All-Star segment on ESPN's First Take on Thursday. "He's not even what Kobe Bryant was as a player.

"So, when you talk about trying to compare Michael's instinct, his ability to take over games, his ability to want to have the last shot, LeBron doesn't have that gene. That's not in him.

"Kobe has that gene. I see a little bit of it in Paul George. Kawhi (Leonard), (Russell) Westbrook. ... Not too many players go on the basketball court with that."

Pippen was especially critical of James during the Lakers' 117-113 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday.

"I can sit here and say today, I watched LeBron the other night," Pippen said. "The game was on the line. And he made little or no effort to go after the ball."

During the segment, it was put to Pippen that James had already played more minutes than Jordan did in his entire career.

Pippen replied: "It's not that. It's that clutch gene. I'm not taking it away that he don't know how to win, and he's not willing to have the ball in his hands. But the players that have that clutch gene, they're gonna go get that ball."

James is averaging 26.8 points, 8.6 rebounds and 7.6 assists through 39 games with Los Angeles.

The Lakers are 10th in the Western Conference and enter the All-Star break with a 28-29 record.

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