Bill Laimbeer is a Stupid Head. Jordan is the GOAT.

The other day Bill Laimbeer, who I have never liked, appeared on an ESPN early morning talk show and was spouting off his usual nonsense. He came right out and said, without hesitation, that LeBron James is easily the GOAT of the NBA.

Now, what he said is not untrue, well, the GOAT thing is wrong, but why he thinks LeBron is the GOAT makes a little bit of sense. He said he runs like the wind, is 6'8 and 280 pounds and is unstoppable. That is all true, but everyone knows that about him. In fact, statements like that are why I like to compare LeBron to a player like Magic. They are unicorns. They are different. They are great. They are Hall of Fame players. They are champions. But, Michael Jordan is the GOAT. There is no question.

I have had this conversation with tons of people. RD and I argued this very thing on the podcast awhile ago. I have been lucky enough to watch both guys play in their primes, and I have no doubt in my mind that Jordan is a better basketball player than LeBron. Personally I think LeBron is the third greatest player of all time, behind Jordan and Kareem Abdul Jabaar. LeBron is the prototype player for the new generation. He can play any position. He makes worse players better. He went to a million Finals in a row. He came in with humongous expectations, and has more than lived up to them. LeBron is an all time great. But he is not the greatest. He has lost many more Finals than he has won. I believe he has a 3-6 record in the Finals. Again, it is amazing that he has made nine Finals, but he only has three rings. He is like the modern day Jerry West. Great player, but flubbed when it came to the Finals. He would also have only two titles if Draymond Green wasn't a selfish asshole. He also is a fake, wannabe bad guy. When he blocked Steph in the Finals a few years back and flexed and mean mugged him, that was one of the fakest acts of toughness I have ever witnessed. LeBron can be a great defender, but only when he wants to be. Look at last season for example. At one point in a game Kyle Kuzma had to physically push LeBron to guard his man who was wide open at the top of the key. That guy went on to make an easy bucket.

LeBron is also too nice of a guy to be the true GOAT. He doesn't have that psychotic mentality that true GOATS possess. LeBron wants to be friends with everyone. He also has had to team up with stars, make super teams if you will, to become a champ. He couldn't do it in Cleveland his first go round. That team was awful, but they got easily dispatched by a far superior Spurs team. He had to team up with Dwanye Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami. He then had Cleveland force a trade to acquire Kevin Love. And this past off season, he and Rich Paul made it a point to get Anthony Davis to LA. LeBron is never the guy, Jordan was always the guy.

LeBron is an amazing player, he is the GOAT of the 21st century, but he is not the best player ever Bill Laimbeer. That title goes to MJ in a walk. I know that Laimbeer has some ill will towards MJ. He was part of the "Bad Boy" Pistons, and they all hated the Bulls and Jordan. They also used to beat them routinely. The Pistons were the team that Jordan had to figure out before they went on their dyanstic runs. The Pistons were the first team to get away with roughing MJ up. And it worked for two seasons. Then it didn't. MJ found a way to assert his dominance, and the Bulls took over. They beat the Pistons, and the Pistons were so sore about it, they walked off the court without even shaking hands with the Bulls and Jordan. I know Isiah Thomas was blamed for this, and he and Jordan have their own history, but I am sure Bill Laimbeer was a big advocate. He was the biggest punk of a team that was filled with some wild dudes. Laimbeer was a fine player, but on that team, he was like the 7th or 8th most important person. Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars, Dennis Rodman, Rick Mahorn, Chuck Daly, they were all much more influential and held much more weight than Laimbeer. Laimbeer was a role guy on a very good team. Jordan was the face of the league for decade. Once they figured out the Pistons, it was a wrap for anyone else. And Jordan took that mantle and never let it go. He didn't have to team up with guys in their prime back then. Sure, Scottie Pippen was his teammate, but the Bulls drafted him. Jordan never asked to play with Barkley or Bird or Magic or Olajuwon. He wanted to beat those guys, and he did. He also made guys like Steve Kerr, BJ Armstrong, Luc Longley, Ron Harper and Bill Wennington household names. He also loathed and wanted to beat everyone. He is the prototype psychopath that has one thing on his mind, and it is beating the man in front of him. Be it practice, a game or a title, Jordan would find a way to beat you. And after he beat you, he would humiliate you. When Karl Malone beat him for MVP one year, Jordan went out and lit his ass up in the Finals. When people thought Clyde Drexler may have been better, Jordan destroyed him and the Blazers in the playoffs. He left no question about who was the best.

This is one of the first times I have ever seen a player from the older generation not take Jordan's side. But, coming from someone like Bill Laimbeer, I shouldn't be surprised. He is bitter and angry and just wants to say some dumb shit so people like myself will keep his name out there. This is a dumb take. I almost feel like he is applying to work at The Ringer with stupid ass hot takes like this. Oh well. Jordan is the GOAT, and there is no denying it. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

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