Getty
Dec 15, 2021; Dallas, Texas, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James celebrates the win over the Dallas Mavericks at the American Airlines Center. | Credit: Getty Images
Getty
Dec 15, 2021; Dallas, Texas, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James celebrates the win over the Dallas Mavericks at the American Airlines Center. | Credit: Getty Images
LeBron James is undoubtedly one of the all-time greats of the game and a strong contender for the GOAT title as well. But, not every NBA fan considers him the greatest. If anyone makes such claims, the NBA world rallies on it with trolls and counterarguments. Similarly, an Atlanta Hawks center received a lot of heat from the NBA world for his GOAT claim.
The claim came in after LeBron James’ domination over the Hawks in Friday night’s game. The Los Angeles Lakers superstar delivered a comfortable victory on his birthday with a stunning 47 points, a special performance for his fans to celebrate.
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Fans troll Hawks center for his GOAT claim
22-year-old Hawks center Onyeka Okongwu witnessed LeBron James’ birthday special performance, from the receiving end. According to the Lakers Daily, Okongwu said after the game, “To me, he’s greatest of all time.” The statement caught the eye of NBA Twitter as fans swarmed the comments section with reactions.
The fans were putting their creative juices to use by throwing touches of sarcasm and memes at the statement. Many fans continued the age-old debate of whether LeBron James or Michael Jordan is the GOAT.
Here are some of the reactions from NBA Twitter:
Year after year, a lot of people kept asking me “MJ or Bron”, I always replied “Wait until what Onyeka Okongwu says”. Today, we finally got our answer 🙏
— ham (@GoinHAM9HD) December 31, 2022
half of the nba players say this on a daily basis lol, this isn’t a headline
— SGAWave (@SgaWave) December 31, 2022
If Kobe and Mike didn’t exist
— Ty ☘️ (@TylerCornellNBA) December 31, 2022
I'm guessing he never played against Jordan lol
— Join Dwight Army (@M_Flores187) December 31, 2022
Stupid quote… That boy is going nowhere believing that garbage…
— Bill the Butcher (@KobeBryantGoat8) December 31, 2022
groundbreaking headline
— caleb hinz (@CalebHinz4) December 31, 2022
Despite all the trolls, King James dominated the hardwood on his birthday with his powerful dunks. Okongwu scored 17 points with 8 rebounds to help the Hawks put up a tough fight.
Are LeBron James and co. still in the playoffs race?
The Los Angeles Lakers are currently in 13th place on the Western Conference table with a 15-21 record. The Lakers need consistent performances to keep their playoff dreams alive. Furthermore, the victory over the Hawks came in as a James masterclass. The Akron Hammer ended the night with 47 points, 10 rebounds, and 9 assists. Lakers center Thomas Bryant pitched in with 19 points to support James.
Watch This Story – Years Before Calling Himself the Goat, LeBron James Wanted To Honor Michael Jordan, Pushing NBA To Take a Huge Step
Notably, the 18-time All-Star has only 500-odd points left to break the all-time NBA scoring record as well.
Can LeBron James lead the Lakers to the playoffs this season? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Written by
Edited by
Veer Badani