LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers is considered by most NBA fans and critics alike to be the best basketball player of his time.

At the annual Nike Basketball Academy in Santa Monica, California over the weekend, James, DeMar DeRozan of the Toronto Raptors, Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder and DeMarcus Cousins of the Sacramento Kings were among the NBA players that ran drills with the Academy participants and served as mentors, reports Cleveland.com.

The parents, who enjoyed watching James schooling the kids from the sidelines, started a debate as to what legendary NBA player James' game compares to. The only two Hall-of-Famers reportedly mentioned were Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson, yet James has stated more than once that he watched Scottie Pippen's game when growing up and was influenced by what he saw.

"I was LeBron James before LeBron James," Pippen told Cleveland.com at the event. "It's not even close."

Pippen was referring to the skills that both he and James display on the basketball court, as compared with Jordan and Johnson.

In his 17-year career, Pippen was voted to the NBA's All-Defensive first team eight times. He was a seven-time All-Star. At the end of his career, he averaged 16.1 points, 6.4 rebounds, 5.2 assists and two steals, proving his status, reports Fox Sports.

James has averaged 27.3 points, 7.1 rebounds, 6.9 assists and 1.7 steals, but despite the numbers, Pippen says he is the closest comparison to James.

Playing alongside the legendary Jordan, Pippen's greatness was often overlooked -- even though he and Jordan led the Chicago Bulls to six NBA titles.

The former Bulls small forwards said it is natural for people to compare James to the all-time greatest, like Jordan or Johnson, "but if you look at how he plays the game and how I played the game, you'll see more similarities with us."