Paul Pierce and LeBron James

LeBron James is looking to bid adieu to Team USA in style by leading the nation to a fifth-straight gold medal at the Olympics. A tournament win in Paris would be his third at the Summer Games, one more than Michael Jordan. Some believe that usurping the Bulls icon’s Olympic gold medal tally could help tilt the GOAT debate in his favor, but Paul Pierce disagrees with that notion.

On Undisputed, the Celtics icon claimed that James leading Team USA to a gold medal win in Paris at 39 would be a stellar achievement, but it won’t lead to anyone switching from Jordan to him in the GOAT debate. He said,

“If he [LeBron] wins another gold, it will do a little bit, Skip because I think a lot of things is really about what you’ve done in the NBA career… He’s gonna have the longest resume when you talk about accolades and broken records in NBA history, and this is just one of those chapters in his book. It gives a little something to it, it doesn’t hurt it, I’ll tell you that.”

Pierce quipped that James is seemingly adamant about ensuring he has the longest list of accolades of any player in basketball history. He claimed that the Lakers superstar’s legacy as one of the greatest is set in stone but a third gold medal win would be an achievement to be proud of. And the veteran is taking the task at hand seriously.

Despite being the oldest player on the roster, James is shouldering the responsibility of being the closer in the fourth quarter for Team USA, helping the star-studded roster avoid losses to South Sudan and Germany in their recent exhibition games. However, Skip Bayless wasn’t too impressed.

Bayless crowns LeBron the king of practice games

The veteran analyst, inarguably James’ biggest critic, downplayed the forward’s fourth-quarter heroics against South Sudan and Germany. Bayless claimed that performing well in exhibition games didn’t mean much. He added that the veteran forward playing well in a low-stakes game did not surprise him, as he has mastered the art over the years. He said,

“LeBron James is the king of practice games. Because, what happened in the bubble? When nobody else was able to take it as seriously as LeBron did, he rose, and he showed, and he took over in the bubble.”

Bayless’ ability to find ways to undermine James is worthy of a gold medal. Nothing the Lakers superstar does impresses the analyst and it’s unlikely that a gold medal win in Paris would change that.