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Try as we may, we have reached the stage of quarantine where the Jordan vs. LeBron debate is enticing again.
I never thought I’d say this again about an argument that has no meat left on the bone, but feed me the motherfucking content.
Lucky for us, this take is a bit more interesting than the mindless fluff that comes from talking heads because it involves a player who spent a chunk of his career falling victim to Michael Jordan’s greatness.
Former Pistons bad boy and four-time All-Star Bill Laimbeer appeared Tuesday on ESPN’s “First Take, and offered a surprising answer to the MJ vs. LeBron debate.
"I firmly believe that [LeBron James] is the best basketball player in the history of the game."
Former "Bad Boy" Piston, and Michael Jordan opponent, Bill Laimbeer. pic.twitter.com/9aTQgnW3n4
— First Take (@FirstTake) April 14, 2020
“I’m very vocal, I think LeBron is the best player that has ever played the game,” said Laimbeer. “He’s 6-foot-8, 285 pounds, runs like the wind, and jumps out of the gym. More importantly, when he came in the league from Day One, he knew how to involve his teammates to win. That’s something Jordan had to learn for a long time.
“Now if you go by championships, obviously Michael Jordan has more championships,” he added. “But I think LeBron in any generation would be doing what he’s doing right now all these years. At the end of the day, I firmly believe that he is the best basketball player in the history of the game.”
Jordan’s son, Marcus, had words for this take:
🧂 🧂 🧂 All I see is salt👀 lol 😆 https://t.co/liiziAhFPG
— Marcus Jordan (@HEIRMJ) April 14, 2020
Laimbeer has a leg to stand on here, though. His Pistons knocked Jordan’s Bulls out of the playoffs for three straight years from ’87-’90 before Jordan turned on the turbo jets and pioneered a sweep of the Pistons in the ’91 conference finals en route to Jordan’s first NBA title and the first of a three-peat.
Following Chicago’s Game 3 win in Detroit in 1991, Jordan blasted the Pistons to the media, labeling them unprofessional and classless. During the waning moments of the Bulls four game sweep of the Detroit, the Pistons walked off the floor without shaking hands with any of the Bulls players.
Suffice it to say, there still may be bad blood between the two 30 years later.
This doesn’t help either.
https://twitter.com/Howsito/status/868635060919980033?s=20
(1988) Michael Jordan makes Bill Laimbeer immediately regret trying to jump with him. pic.twitter.com/dXKjBTvlfi
— Timeless Sports (@timelesssports_) January 23, 2019