Patriots

LeBron James explained why he doesn’t think Tom Brady is the ‘greatest athlete of all time’

https://youtu.be/1ypwbI1NtG4?t=24m14s

LeBron James will call Tom Brady the GOAT among quarterbacks, but the Cleveland Cavaliers forward is hesitant to say Brady is the GOAT among all athletes.

In a recent ESPN video produced by Uninterrupted, James and the Golden State Warriors’s Draymond Green got their hair cut in a New Orleans barbershop and chatted all things basketball with rapper 2 Chainz, former New York Knick Charles Oakley, and a number of other guests.

Just after the video’s 24-minute mark, the conversation turned to football.

“What Tom Brady did over the history of my life is the greatest thing I’ve seen is sports,” said Maverick Carter, media personality and James’s business manager.

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“My only argument with a football player being the greatest athlete of all time,” James responded, “is that they only gotta play one side of the floor, man.”

“Yes, Brady is unbelievable,” James continued. “Brady is the greatest quarterback I’ve ever seen. But he affects the game one way. And that’s by throwing the ball — and it’s great. And it’s great. He could play 22 years, but he don’t have to worry about certain things like a basketball player.”

James, who was an all-state wide receiver at St. Vincent-St. Mary High in Akron, Ohio, recalled how he never spoke to the defense when he played football.

“When I played football offensively, I never even talked to the defensive side,” he said. “Ain’t nothing to talk about!”

The NBA All-Star said that while he thinks football is an intensely physical game, he credits the coach when it comes to protecting the quarterback — particularly in Brady’s case.

“[Bill] Belichick has done a great job of implementing those five guys in front to protect that asset every Sunday,” James said. “That’s Belichick. That’s not Brady.”