"No rings but that bubble lol" - Michael Jordan's ex-teammate mocks LeBron James after latest Lakers milestone
LeBron James joined the Los Angeles Lakers' 10,000-point club on Thursday, cementing his place in franchise history alongside some of the sport's biggest names. One fan pointed out that this is LeBron's seventh year in LA, just one year shy of the eight seasons Shaquille O'Neal played there.
The fan said that LeBron James is more of a legend in LA than fans may realize; however, Michael Jordan's former teammate Ron Harper isn't buying it. In response to the post, Harper wrote that James only has one ring in LA, whereas Shaq helped lead the franchise to a three-peat.
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, he wrote:
"No rings but that bubble lol"
His comment naturally sparked a fierce debate in the replies, with some fans arguing that the bubble championship was one of the toughest in the history of the NBA. Of course, others argued the opposite, saying that the bubble championship should be considered one of the easiest titles of all time.
Michael Jordan's former teammate Ron Harper once dismissed the MJ vs. LeBron James GOAT debate
The NBA's Greatest of All Time (GOAT) debate centers on two players: Michael Jordan and LeBron James. Some members of the NBA community believe that Jordan's dominance on both ends of the floor and his career accomplishments give him the edge.
On the other hand, many members of the NBA community believe that LeBron James's longevity and proven ability to win with multiple teams make him stand out at the top.
The way Ron Harper sees things, there's no sense in comparing the two. In November, he shared a clip of Michael Jordan responding to a question about comparing his career to past NBA legends, saying that we can only compare players who compete against one another.
Before that, in an interview with HoopsHype, Harper discussed the GOAT debate, saying that comparing the two players doesn't make much sense, considering they don't play a similar style of basketball.
"They make the wrong comparison," Harper said. "When you look at LeBron James, you have to think of Oscar Robertson or Magic Johnson – big guards who can do everything. One thing they don't give MJ credit for was his defense. MJ was an aggressive defensive player – one of the best of all-time at that two-guard spot.
"He doesn't get any credit for that because everyone wants to talk about the way he scored the basketball, but MJ was a great defensive ball player too. So I don't really put LeBron in that MJ conversation. I put LeBron with those big guys."
While Harper wants nothing to do with NBA GOAT discourse, the discussions certainly won't end as soon as King James continues to chase a fifth championship ring.