LeBron James is ‘best player ever,’ says guard who won ring with Warriors vs. Cavs in 2018

Quinn Cook — who won an NBA title with the Golden State Warriors and another with the Los Angeles Lakers — believes that former Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James is the greatest basketball player of all time.

He had nothing but good things to say about James on social media after the veteran put together another impressive showing for Team USA in an exhibition game against Germany on Monday.

It’s worth noting that Cook and James were teammates on the Lakers a few years back. They won a ring together in 2020. Cavs fans may also remember that Cook had a short stint with Cleveland, though not at the same time James was on the team.

In a game Team USA won by just four points on Monday, James led the squad in scoring with 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field and 2-of-2 shooting from 3-point range while also contributing six rebounds, four assists, one steal and one block. What made James’ stat line particularly impressive was that he played only 18 minutes for Team USA, meaning he scored more than one point per minute.

James dominated from a scoring standpoint down the stretch against Germany. He scored the last 11 points of the game for Team USA.

After coming out on top against Germany, Team USA finished the USA Basketball Showcase — a series of exhibition games — with an undefeated record of 5-0. The squad’s first Olympic bout in Paris will be against Serbia — a team led by Denver Nuggets star big man and three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic — on July 28.

Team USA beat Serbia by 26 points in a game during the USA Basketball Showcase on July 17.

James has a shot at winning the third gold medal of his career this summer, which would put him ahead of former Chicago Bulls superstar Michael Jordan in that regard. Jordan retired with two.

ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins — who played alongside James on the Cavaliers during his own NBA career — said that James is motivated to earn another gold medal so that he can further validate his case as the greatest player ever to play the game of basketball.

Barring unforeseen circumstances, fans of Team USA should expect James, along with the likes of Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant and other superstars, to have a good shot at earning the United States yet another gold medal in the near future.