Some former NBA players have trouble recognizing the great players of today, but former Detroit Pistons star Bill Laimbeer has no issue recognizing LeBron James’ greatness.
In fact, the former Pistons “Bad Boy” recently called James the greatest player ever.
“I’m very vocal, I think LeBron is the best player to ever play the game,” Laimbeer said. “He’s 6-8, 285 pounds, runs like the wind and jumps out of the gym, and more importantly when he came into league from day one, he knew how to involve his teammates to win. And that’s something that [Michael] Jordan had to learn for a long time.”
Laimbeer’s point of view on the matter is quite weighty considering the fact that he played against Jordan for many years.
While Laimbeer did admit that Jordan edges out James if one only considers championships, he said that Jordan’s six titles do not outweigh everything else that James has brought to the game.
“Now, if you go by championships obviously Michael Jordan has more championships, but I think LeBron in any generation would be doing what he’s doing right now all these years,” he said. “And I think at the end of the day, I firmly believe that he’s the best basketball player in the history of the game.”
Prior to the NBA pausing the 2019-20 season, James seemed well on his way to earning his fourth career title.
With the season in the balance, the Lakers currently hold a commanding lead in the Western Conference.
Hopefully, the Lakers and the rest of the NBA will be able to resume play sometime in the near future. If James were to win another title this year, he’d only need two more to tie the Bulls icon.
