Danny Ainge wonders about the motive behind LeBron James' recent "greatest of all time" comments and has suggested he is "taking the Donald Trump approach".
The Boston Celtics general manager appeared on The Toucher And Rich Show on Thursday and he offered his thoughts on James' declaration that he was the 'GOAT'.
James called himself the greatest of all time when discussing the Cleveland Cavaliers' 2016 performance in the NBA Finals. Cleveland were down 3-1 in the series against the Golden State Warriors but the Cavs rallied to win the title.
"His career's not over," Ainge said. "I'd just like to [know] why he's saying that? I don't know. Maybe he thinks that that sells. Maybe he's taking the Donald Trump approach and trying to sell himself. I don't know."
Ainge added: "Obviously LeBron is in every conversation with who is the greatest player of all time.
"But time will tell. I don't know if anyone knows who the greatest of all time is, because the years are so different."
One thing James' declaration did was further fuel the Michael Jordan comparisons, which have been going on for years.
Despite the Trump comparisons, Ainge did offer an olive branch of sorts — he said James is better than Larry Bird, who is Ainge's former Celtics team-mate.
"LeBron went to the Finals," Ainge said. "I would have to say [he is better than Bird], just because he was able to have more durability and play at a top level of his game for longer."
