KEY POINTS

  • Former Lakers trainer Gary Vitti shares his interesting insight about LeBron James
  • Vitti thinks James is more like Oscar Robertson
  • The four-time MVP admitted that comparisons could sometimes be "exhausting"

A former Los Angeles Lakers trainer has made a shocking comparison claim about LeBron James.

Over the course of his stellar NBA career, James has been a subject of endless comparisons.

His greatness has often been likened to Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and Magic Johnson. But for former Lakers trainer Gary Vitti, none of the aforementioned NBA greats resembles James’ game.

According to Vitti, James is a cut above the rest, and if there’s an NBA legend who shares the same qualities as the four-time MVP, it would be Oscar Robertson.

"He (James) doesn't remind me of either one, I think he is an enigma,” Vitti told Scoop B Radio. "I find him to be more of a bigger version of Oscar Robertson. [He] plays the game the way it's supposed to be played."

The same take was previously explained by James’ former teammate and friend Dwyane Wade.

For Wade, James, as well as the other NBA greats who played before him, is unique. Hence, the three-time NBA champ pointed out that putting their names in debates and comparisons doesn’t make sense.

“You see a guy like [LeBron] James, the numbers he is putting up. It’s not something that the guys haven’t done, Kobe put on a string like that, MJ as well,” Wade explained in 2019. “It doesn’t matter what the style was. I just feel like [it’s about] allowing them to be them, allow them to create their own portrait”

“They have a blank canvas and let them create the story that will be in their generation. I love it and support it."

LeBron James and Kobe Bryant
Baron Davis takes a swipe at LeBron James but explains that the NBA star is not entirely to blame for the Los Angeles Lakers failure. LeBron James #6 of the Miami Heat is guarded by Kobe Bryant #24 of the Los Angeles Lakers during a game at American Airlines Arena on January 19, 2012 in Miami, Florida. Getty Images/Mike Ehrmann

For what it’s worth, comparisons make the NBA more interesting as it sparks a lot of debates among players from different eras.

For one, the timeless James-Jordan comparison is still one of the most talked-about topics in both the NBA and across all social media platforms.

Over and over again, James has dealt with it and last year, he once again tried to put an end to it by revealing that being compared to NBA greats is “humbling” but at the same time “exhausting.”

“It can be exhausting, you said it,” the Lakers superstar told Smartless Podcast. “But I’ve always looked at it like, anytime you’re compared, or you’re even mentioned with the greats that ever play this game, it’s become humbling for me.”

The same people they put me in the category with or saying compare this to that guy are the same guys I looked to for inspiration growing up."

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