LeBron James Savagely Fires Back at Doug Gottlieb Months After Being Accused of Bad Parenting

LeBron James has a lot to be proud of in his 22-year NBA career, but the 40-year-old also takes pride in his role as a father and mentor to his three children. So it’s no surprise that the 21-time All-Star didn’t take kindly when Doug Gottlieb fired off his opinion on James’ parenting abilities.

Gotlieb claimed that LeBron isn’t a bad person or father, but he is a bad basketball parent. “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 said on his show back in late November.

Gottlieb pointed to how James has handled his oldest son Bronny’s basketball career as his biggest misstep. The longtime sports analyst believes James hurt everyone in the Lakers organization by insisting that the team draft Bronny, who clearly was not ready to compete at the next level. LBJ’s adamant stance has made his son’s roster spot look like a result of nepotism, rather than an NBA-ready skillset.

Bronny has steadily improved throughout his time in the G League, but not nearly enough to warrant the constant commotion surrounding the late second-round pick. Gottlieb underlined his belief that Bronny’s addition to the team would limit how much the roster can bond and improve with the best player’s son also on the team.

LeBron James pounced on the opportunity to roast Doug Gottlieb

It took a few months, but LeBron James finally found the perfect opportunity to get Gottlieb back for his perceived disrespect. In his first season as the head coach of the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay’s men’s basketball team, Gottlieb has struggled to find any form of success. His team has limped to a disastrous 2-24 record and haven’t won a game in three months, as pointed out by College Basketball Report on X.

LBJ took Green Bay’s historic struggles as an opportunity to roast their head coach for his previous comments. James quoted the tweet and followed it with several laughing and poop emojis. It seems as though LeBron has been waiting since November for his opportunity to strike.

Considering his team hasn’t won a game since his original comments, this may serve as a lesson to Gottlieb not to come at the King. LeBron has taken plenty of disrespect on the chin throughout his career, but he clearly isn’t so patient when his family is involved.