Bill Laimbeer, four-time All-Star and two-time NBA Champion with the Detroit Pistons, has weighed in on his take regarding who he believes is the greatest NBA player of all time. The GOAT debate between Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James and former Chicago Bulls great Michael Jordan continues to rage among basketball fans and NBA Twitter.
But in Laimbeer’s mind, there’s no question, according to a Bleacher Report article by Scott Polacek:
“I'll take LeBron James every day of the week,” Laimbeer said when comparing the King to Michael Jordan during his appearance this week on The Odd Couple with Chris Broussard and Rob Parker of Fox Sports Radio.
Of course, Laimbeer cannot be relied upon to give an objective opinion on this subject, as his Pistons battled through tough, physical series with the Jordan’s Bulls in the late 80s and early 90s. Though the Pistons bested the Bulls in back-to-back season on the way to repeating as NBA champions, Jordan got his revenge in 1991 by sweeping the Pistons.
Detroit’s players were nonplussed and refused to shake hands with the opposing players after the series ended.
Laimbeer was known for his overly physical, brutal play on the court as his Basketball-Reference nicknames of The Prince of Darkness and His Heinous would convey.
Laimbeer is at least consistent on the GOAT topic, as he previously claimed LeBron as the GOAT in 2017 when he was a member of the Cavs before he joined the Lakers.