Doug Gottlieb: “When Paul Pierce says LeBron is ‘Not a Top 5 All-Time Player’ and ‘You Can Stop the GOAT Conversation if They Lose in the First Round’, do I think Paul believes that? Yes, and I also there are other guys that believe that. He couldn’t guard Durant in the last two NBA Finals he played against him in, and while he’s a very good center-fielder and does have chase down blocks, he’s not the defensive player he used to be. Offensively, no one has ever practiced LeBron’s moves. LeBron is so much bigger and so much stronger than anyone else whose played that position that he just muscles you, he just ‘Bully Ball’s you, and he’s just a dominant weapon. NBA players love not only the Alpha mentality of guys, but a little bit of refined skill and a move they can replicate – and a tip of the cap to whoever invented it, and LeBron offers none of that… There’s a lot of things that LeBron does that you’re sitting there going like, ‘yeaaaa, it’s not pretty, but it’s super effective’. No one can replicate it because he’s so much bigger and stronger than people. This is a lot like the Shaq conversation. Shaq was fast, strong, and athletic for a man his size, but the reason he doesn’t come into any of these ‘GOAT’ conversations is because he didn’t have refined skill, whereas Tim Duncan did… I’ve talked to other NBA stars and they’ll say ‘look, LeBron is awesome, but the days of him scoring 25 in a row like he did against the Pistons, that was over a decade ago.’ That’s not happening anymore, and his skill hasn’t gotten better as he’s gotten older.” (Full Segment Above)
Listen to Doug Gottlieb discuss ESPN basketball analyst and future NBA Hall of Famer Paul Pierce's recent remarks that not only double-doubled on his infamous belief that LeBron James is not a top 5 all-time player, but also with the proclamation that LeBron should be removed from any ‘GOAT’ discussions if the top-seeded Lakers lose their opening round series versus the eighth-seeded Blazers, who finished the season four games under .500.
Check out the audio above as Gottlieb details why he thinks a lot of current and former NBA players agree with Pierce, as Gottlieb explains why LeBron was, and still is, more of a physical phenom like Shaquille O’Neal who plays an unstoppable form of ‘Bully Ball’, and a player who simply 'out-physicals' everyone with sheer size and strength, instead of using unique and refined skills that current and future players would want to emulate.
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