LeBron James is easily one of, if not, the best player to ever play basketball. The fact he's still dominating the court at 39 years old. Despite that, the Los Angeles Lakers superstar has received plenty of criticism over the course of his career. For whatever reason, a lot of sports fans hate on greatness and Larry Bird is absolutely sick of it.

During an interview on NBA on TNT, Bird laid it down straight for the LeBron James haters. The former Boston Celtics forward tells people to “quit whining about LeBron.” Considering James is nearing retirement, whenever that may be, Larry Bird's statement makes sense.

“I tell people [to] quit whining about LeBron [James]. Enjoy him while he's here. He's unbelievable. I mean, he's one of the greatest, if not the greatest ever.”

Seeing a former great defend James is awesome. Sometimes the Hall of Famers criticizes todays players. So, it's a nice change of pace to hear Larry Bird praise LeBron James. Even if he played on the Celtics and was a major rival to the Lakers franchise.

This season, James is playing as his usual self. Entering the All-Star Break, the Lakers star is averaging 24.8 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 7.8 assists per game. He continues to serve as the best player on his team despite being one of the oldest players in the NBA. He's a truly amazing talent and the final stretch of his career will be interesting to see play out.

Catch LeBron James on Sunday night in the All-Star Game at 8 P.M. Eastern on TNT.