Doc Rivers names NBA’s greatest player, but ‘no doubt’ LeBron James will be GOAT

Amid the debate over LeBron James and Michael Jordan, basketball coach Doc Rivers said who he thinks is the greatest NBA star of all time.

The 62-year-old, who spent 13 years as a player and 24 years as a coach in the NBA, expressed his thoughts on the matter during an interview with Kevin Garnett on Showtime Basketball. “I hate the GOAT debate, I’m a Michael (Jordan) guy,” Rivers said, expressing his respect for both players.

He added: “But that doesn’t mean there’s anything bad about LeBron (James). LeBron will have the greatest career ever.” Rivers witnessed firsthand the strength of James and Jordan, who both won the He has won 10 NBA championships, 10 Finals MVPs, 9 regular season MVPs and 33 All-Star Game selections.

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They remain two of the most revered figures of their respective eras. Rivers played against Jordan for many years and coached James during his prime. Rivers admitted he thought James’ career would ultimately be unmatched, insisting: “He’s going to have one of the greatest careers of all time, no question about it, but to me, the only player there is Mike. But that’s it.” Doesn’t mean LeBron is bad.

“I feel like if you say one, it means you’re dissing the other. They’re both great. It’s an interesting debate, but I just hate it when you do that and people think you’re dissing a guy or Others.” Rivers last coached in the NBA during the Philadelphia 76ers’ 2023 playoffs. He was fired shortly after being soundly defeated by the Boston Celtics in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

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Rivers’ three years in Philadelphia were somewhat disappointing, as he failed to lead the 76ers to the conference finals.

He also has to deal with the Ben Simmons situation, as the Australian has sat out the entire season due to a desire to leave the team and has also cited mental health issues. Reflecting on his tumultuous time with the Sixers, Rivers said he plans to give himself some time before making another decision about his future in the game.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do,” Rivers told TMZ in a brief interview in July. “I’m just going to enjoy life.” The last ten years of Rivers’ coaching career were full of challenges. After a successful and championship-winning 2008 season with the Celtics, he failed to reach the NBA Finals with the mighty Los Angeles Clippers as they lost several series leads.

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Rivers said he has occasionally recalled that period of his life over the past decade and expressed regret over his decision to leave the Celtics to play in California. “I regret it every day,” Rivers told reporters in December. “It was the right move for me at the time. Nine years in one place. We were going to rebuild. I keep looking back on that.

“My life would have been smoother if I had stayed where I was… You don’t look back and neither do I, but I regret it sometimes, that’s for sure.” He added: “This is probably the best part of my sporting career. The best time of my life. For me and a lot of people involved, that time will never go away.”

“When you walk down the streets of Boston, you see all the former players. (Kevin Garnett) and all those guys. You still have memories of it. It’s a wonder that will never go away. Feel.”

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