NBA Hall of Famer Bob Cousy played 13 seasons of his legendary career with the Boston Celtics. Seven of them were alongside Bill Russell . Unsurprisingly, Cooz hails Bill as his personal NBA GOAT "for obvious reasons."
However, in the modern-day NBA GOAT debate, Cousy acknowledged that it could boil down to between LeBron James and Michael Jordan . For Cooz, both players are legitimate candidates, but James deserves to hold that title simply because there was nothing he couldn't do on the court, and there was nobody who could stop him.
"LeBron can play every position," Cousy told the Boston Globe in 2018. "No one can stop him, and then he goes out and hits these ridiculous threes. He has that kind of flexibility with him. It’s amazing."
Cooz knew LeBron could always beat the Celtics
As a Celtics legend, Cousy always rooted for Boston, especially during the playoffs. Every time James' team, be it the Cleveland Cavaliers or the Miami Heat, faced the Celtics in the postseason, Cooz admitted that he always felt worried about his team.
Like any other Celtics faithful, Cousy wanted Boston to win another NBA championship. However, LeBron had often prevented the C's from doing so. Perhaps it was the only thing "The Houdini of the Hardwood" didn't like about James.
"… This son of a gun LeBron is so good he could literally take over a game if it's important enough," Cousy pointed out.
LeBron knew exactly when he became the GOAT
As it turns out, James thought about himself the same way Cousy does. For "The King," he has proven that there was nothing he couldn't accomplish and nobody could stop him when he and the Cavs upset the Golden State Warriors in the 2016 NBA Finals.
Given the incredible odds and the Warriors boasting a record-breaking season, LeBron believed that he became the rightful GOAT after he lifted the Cavs to a dramatic NBA championship run that year.
"If we are talking from a basketball standpoint. At that moment (2016 Finals), I was like, 'I'm the greatest basketball player that people have ever seen in all facets.' I can play 1 through 5, I can guard 1 through 5, just like I literally did something that's never been done in the history of the sport. Teams that go down 3-1 were like 0-32 in finals history. There's nobody ever coming out of that. And nobody gave us a chance. That just felt like, 'Ain't nobody better than me at this,'" James once explained.
Expectedly, LeBron's comments about becoming the GOAT did not sit well with some fans, maybe except Cousy. Nevertheless, it's still safe to say that regardless of what people think of the GOAT debate, one thing certain is that James will go down in history as arguably the greatest player the NBA has ever seen.
Related: Bob Knight explains why LeBron James is not even close to Michael Jordan
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