Danny Ainge says LeBron James is 'taking the Donald Trump approach' with his GOAT comments

LeBron James is just like President Donald Trump, according to Danny Ainge. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
LeBron James is just like President Donald Trump, according to Danny Ainge. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James has drawn plenty of reactions for saying he’s the greatest basketball player of all time. Some agreed with those comments. Some called them disrespectful. Boston Celtics general manager Danny Ainge compared James to President Donald Trump.

No, really. That last one happened. Ainge appeared on a Boston radio program Thursday, where he said James’ comments remind him of something Trump would say, according to the Sporting News.

“His career’s not over,” Ainge said. “I’d just like to — 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 said he believes James was trying to “sell himself” with those comments. That’s the part of James’ proclamation that reminded Ainge of Trump.

That comparison is unlikely to sit well with James. The 34-year-old James once called Trump a “bum” on Twitter. That’s far from the only time James has criticized Trump since the 2016 election.

Considering that, Ainge’s response probably hurts James more than most. While it’s possible this was all a calculated move from Ainge to try and throw James off his game, it’s far more likely it was an offhand comment that’s going to get blown way out of proportion.

It has to be the latter, because Ainge knows someone who considers themselves the GOAT would not be thrown off their game that easily.

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Chris Cwik is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at christophercwik@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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