Bill Laimbeer knows a thing or two about greatness.
The man played at a time when Michael Jordan was coming into his own and would redefined the game of basketball in the process. He also went head-to-head with Larry Bird’s Boston Celtics and Magic Johnson’s Los Angeles Lakers teams of the decade.
Even still, Laimbeer does not think Michael Jordan is the greatest of all time.
The former NBA star and current Las Vegas Aces coach says the answer is quite simple — it’s LeBron James.
“I’m very vocal. I think LeBron is the best player to ever play the game,” Laimbeer said on ESPN’s “First Take” Tuesday morning.
“He runs like the wind and jumps out of the gym.” the former Pistons center said. “But more importantly when he joined the league, from day one he knew how to involve his teammates to win.”
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Laimbeer said that was a quality that Jordan had to learn for a long time.
“But I think Lebron in any generation would be doing what he’s doing right now,” Laimbeer said. “At the end of the day I firmly believe that he’s the best basketball player in the history of the game.”
It’s not the first time Laimbeer has chosen LeBron over Jordan, praising James’ toughness, calling him “mentally” and “physically strong” back in 2014.
He said the same thing in April 2019 when he said, “I’ll take LeBron James every day of the week,” he said when comparing the King to Michael Jordan on The Odd Couple with Chris Broussard and Rob Parker of Fox Sports Radio.
The former Pistons enforcer clearly still harbors some ill will towards Jordan and the Bulls.
Detroit eliminated Chicago in the 1989 and 1990 Eastern Conference Finals, although the Bulls swept the Pistons in the 1991 rematch. The Pistons famously walked off the court without shaking hands following their 1991 loss.
