As a coach Doc Rivers has eliminated LeBron James twice from the NBA playoffs. Still, it hasn't prevented Rivers from denying James' greatness. That's why it's so hard for Rivers to jump on the bandwagon of those who have rooted against James throughout his career.
In an old interview, Rivers went out of his way to defend James against the critics.
"The whole LeBron thing bothers me because it just looks like we keep trying to find why he's not great," Rivers said during the interview. "We turn on ESPN or any of these ... we keep looking at why LeBron is not great instead of celebrating his greatness and I don't understand what that is."
James was mostly celebrated during his early years with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Things changed once he decided to join Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh with the Miami Heat. That's when fans turned on him because they felt he was taking the easy path to a championship. There's also the Michael Jordan fans who say James isn't in the conversation as the game's best player ever. Then there is James' willingness to speak on politics.
Rivers, who played from 1984-96, said players were more praised during his day.
"I've never seen so many people want LeBron to fail," Rivers said. "When I grew up, we celebrated our stars. We celebrated our heroes. Now, we don't even let them be stars or heroes. We're looking, we're nitpicking. We're tearing them apart."
