The never-ending Michael Jordan versus LeBron James debate has resurfaced yet again during the 2017 postseason, and there’s no shortage of former NBA players that have voiced their opinion on the subject. One of the latest, is former “Bad Boy” Bill Laimbeer, who went toe-to-toe with Jordan’s Bulls throughout the 80’s and 90’s.
The former Pistons center wasn’t shy in voicing his opinion, saying he’d take LeBron James over Michael Jordan any day.
“I’ll take LeBron James, absolutely,” Laimbeer said to Etan Thomas on The Rematch podcast.
“LeBron can do anything. Michael couldn’t get all the rebounds. He couldn’t be the assist man like LeBron James can. He was very focused on scoring, a deadly assassin, but the rest of the part of his game, LeBron James is better than Michael Jordan.”
While Laimbeer brings up solid points about James’ all-around skill-set compared to Jordan’s scoring prowess, it’s fair to note that he and Jordan weren’t always the best of friends during their playing days.
The Pistons-Bulls rivalry throughout the late 80’s was perhaps one of the most bitter of its kind in NBA history, with Laimbeer’s Pistons getting the best of Jordan’s Bulls in the 1989 and 1990 Eastern Conference Finals, and Jordan finally getting his revenge in 1991 courtesy of a four-game sweep. The Pistons infamously walked off the court without shaking any of the Bulls players’ hands following the on-court shellacking.
But despite Laimbeer’s past with Jordan, it’s hard to argue some of his points. LeBron James has already passed Michael Jordan in postseason scoring, and he’s a better rebounder and playmaker than Jordan ever was. While some could argue that the Cavs superstar is not at GOAT status yet, he’s certainly making his case to one day go down as the “Greatest of All Time”.
