Before Bill Laimbeer forged a coaching career in the WNBA that included stops with the Detroit Shock (where he won three championships), New York Liberty and his current gig at the Las Vegas Aces, he was one of the faces of the Bad Boy Pistons in the 1980s and early 1990s.
Laimbeer’s Pistons provided a roadblock earlier in Jordan’s career path to an NBA championship with the Chicago Bulls. ESPN is premiering “The Last Dance,” about MJ’s sixth and final NBA title with the Bulls in the 1997-98 season.
The Aces coach appeared on ESPN’s First Take to talk about the upcoming documentary and Jordan’s career. He even had an interesting opinion on who he believes is the greatest NBA player of all time – and it is not 2-3-that-became-4-5.
I’m very vocal, I think LeBron is the best player that’s ever played the game. He’s 6-foot-8, 285 pounds, runs like the wind and jumps out of the gym. And more importantly when he came in the league, from day one, he knew how to involve his teammates to win, and that’s something that Jordan had to lean for a long time. Now, if you go by championships, obviously Michael Jordan has more championships. But I think LeBron, in any generation, would be doing what he’s doing right now.
–Bill Laimbeer, Las Vegas Aces coach (ESPN)
Laimbeer also admitted something in the same interview – that he believes that the current style of NBA basketball is based on “one-on-one” and “two on two” play as opposed to the “five-on-five” type of basketball he believes defined his era of the men’s Association.
…as time goes by, I don’t really pay attention to the NBA anymore.
–Bill Laimbeer, Las Vegas Aces coach (ESPN)
I pay attention to my sport, the WNBA, and I keep on going.
–Bill Laimbeer, Las Vegas Aces coach (ESPN)
