The beef between LeBron James and Doug Gottlieb has taken another exciting turn after the Los Angeles Lakers forward very obviously trolled the University of Wisconsin—Green Bay basketball coach on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday.
Earned 2 Not Given! Gotta give him credit though! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣. 💩 💩 💩 💩 💩 https://t.co/khxpnlvUY1
— LeBron James (@KingJames) February 17, 2025
"I don't think it speaks well for somebody who—like, don't you have the day off?" Gottlieb responded while calling into Fox Sports Radio, where he still hosts a show, on Monday. "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 people who aren't super successful in their field. I guess that would be my response. ... It doesn't make any sense. Why on a Presidents' Day Monday, when you have the day off, are you worried about me? I'm not really sure."
He went on to note that it is his job to give sports opinions online—is LeBron mad "because I didn't think Bronny should be a McDonald's All-American? Or shouldn't have been an NBA draft pick? O.K."
would start at Green Bay "Make-a-Wish kid.
So you can sort of see both sides here. On the one hand, just because part of Gottlieb's job is levying criticism toward players doesn't mean those players can't comment back—in other words, you don't want to dish it out without being able to take it, especially in the case of someone's kid.
But on the other hand, plenty of analysts and commentators have said the same thing about Bronny—why is just Gottlieb getting the smoke?
Maybe it's that James was looking to divert attention after declining at the last minute to participate in Sunday's All-Star game. Or maybe he just had the time Monday and believed Green Bay’s abysmal record (3-24) was the perfect way in. My money is on the last option, but who is to say.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Doug Gottlieb Responds to LeBron's Troll Post, Says NBA Star Is 'Punching Down'.
