All Lakers

Doug Gottlieb Takes Another Massive Shot at Lakers' LeBron James

Matt Levine

Jim Rassol-Imagn Images
In this story:

Just when the feud between Los Angeles Lakers star forward LeBron James and sports talk radio host/college basketball coach Doug Gottlieb had died down, the coach had more to say. Gottlieb continued the conversation about James, taking another massive shot at him.

“LeBron's a troll. He's just punching down. It's just sad and petty. Here's someone who has hundreds of millions of dollars living a luxurious life in L.A. tweeting about me on his off day.”

This all started when James took to social media to call out Gottlieb over his rough first season coaching in college basketball. James clearly remembered the comments that Gottlieb made against his son Bronny and took the chance to troll Gottlieb.

Gottlieb then fired back at James with his original comments on the matter.

"I don't think it speaks well for somebody who — like, don't you have the day off?" Gottlieb said. "Don't you have better things to do? My response is: Colin [Cowherd] told me a long time ago, 'Don't punch down. Always punch up.' So me talking trash to him would technically be punching up. And him, it's punching down. So I don't know. I guess pettiness and insecurity aren't limited to just people who aren't super successful in their field. I guess that would be my response.

Things seemed to die down between the two until Gottlieb continued the beef with these new "troll" comments. James normally doesn't react to messages like this but clearly, Gottlieb is someone that has gotten under his skin.

A few months ago, Gottlieb called the Lakers star a "bad basketball parent" and criticized how the Lakers were treating Bronny, comparing him to a "Make-A-Wish kid."

Read more: Lakers' LeBron James Calls Out Doug Gottlieb Following Tough First Season in NCAA

“This toxicity is based upon one guy. And LeBron is a good father, is a good parent, but he’s a bad basketball parent because he’s making people elevate his kid to a level that his skill is not close to being at.”

Gottlieb also mentioned that Bronny wouldn't start for his team at Wisconsin-Green Bay.

"He would compete to start," Gottlieb said. "While I like how he moves the ball and defends, he wouldn't be my point guard. My wings are bigger, and without seeing him with us, I think it would be hard for him to start, to be honest."

It remains to be seen if LeBron will respond to these latest comments but Gottlieb doesn't seem to be letting this go.

More Lakers news: Will Rudy Gobert Play vs Lakers? Timberwolves Release Injury Report

Former Lakers Coach Phil Handy Had Interesting First Impression of Austin Reaves

Mavericks' Kyrie Irving Keeping Close Contact With Lakers' Luka Doncic After Trade: Report

Lakers' LeBron James Details Efforts to Help Luka Doncic Adjust Quickly

For more news and notes on the Los Angeles Lakers, visit Los Angeles Lakers on SI.

Published
Matt Levine
MATT LEVINE

Matt earned a Master of Science degree in Sport Management from Louisiana State University in 2021. He was born and raised in the Los Angeles area, covering all Southern California sports in his career.

Home/News