Then-head coach of the Los Angeles Clippers Doc Rivers had some not-at-all controversial praise for LeBron James during a 2016 appearance on The Dan Patrick Show: “But LeBron, statistically, championship-wise, he’s one of the top-five players to ever play the game.”
Considering that the “MJ or LeBron?” GOAT debate is now ingrained into the fabric of our society, this qualifies as, like, a lukewarm endorsement of the obvious. Unless you’re Skip Bayless. Then of FS1, he offered the following response to Doc’s comments:
“I’m looking at the top five, and I say, there’s no way LeBron James belongs above, I’ll just throw out five players to you: Michael Jordan, enough said. Magic Johnson, enough said. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, six rings and six MVPs. Ehhhh, I think we’ll let that rest. Bill Russell, 11 rings in 12 tries. That’s pretty great. And then, my man Tim Duncan, five rings with only one Finals loss to a man who just announced his official retirement, Ray Allen, who saved LeBron’s legacy, by hitting the greatest clutch shot I’ve ever seen.”
To say this at any point is performative theatre. To say it after LeBron had just overthrown the dynastic Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals, successfully erasing a 3-1 series deficit, and delivered the greatest block in NBA history? Well, that’s a special brand of disingenuity-for-hire.