Between Larry and LeBron James who is the goat…(Answer needed in the comments section)Lakers Legend Reluctantly Chooses Larry Bird Over LeBron James
Gideon Canice
May 4, 2024
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Boston Celtics, NBA
It’s always difficult to compare players from different eras, but that doesn’t prevent NBA fans from debating which player is the greatest of all time.


Today’s generation of NBA fans generally side with Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James as the GOAT, but go back a few decades and the Michael Jordan, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Larry Bird fans might have something to say. Go further back, and there are Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell supporters who will put up a fight.
Former Lakers star Michael Cooper was put to the test during an April 2024 episode on his podcast. He had three players to choose from — LeBron, Bird, and Magic Johnson — and had to start one, bench one, and cut one. In a surprising and agonizing decision, Bird survived the cut.
Michael Cooper Agonizes Over Larry Bird vs. LeBron James Decision
Cooper called it an “unfair question” when CLNS Media’s Nick Gelso posed it during an episode of the “Showtime With Coop” podcast. It’s a little NBA game seen all over social media that features three legends, and one has to start on your make-believe team, one has to be a reserve, and the other gets tossed off the team.
Gelso’s three players were two Lakers icons, Magic and LeBron, and one Boston legend, Bird. Cooper played a major role in the 1980s for a Lakers team that won five championships and constantly battled the Celtics for NBA supremacy. He’s admitted he’s never liked the Celtics. He’s also admitted how much he respects Bird after having the unenviable task of guarding him throughout his career.
That made Gelso’s question even more difficult to answer. Cooper agonized over the decision, but decided to keep Bird and cut LeBron.
“Now that’s a hard one,” Cooper told Gelso. “I’m going to get myself in trouble here. I gotta
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