Doug Gottlieb responds to LeBron James' vicious call out: "Maybe don’t force..."

The Los Angeles Lakers drafting Bronny James with the 55th overall pick in the 2024 NBA draft stirred a lot of controversy.

Many, including Green Bay head coach Doug Gottlieb, believed Bronny wasn't NBA ready and the only reason he was picked was due to his father, LeBron James' influence.

Well, there is no doubt that James Jr. isn't a top prospect in the league, but he has improved a lot since entering the league.

Coming back to Gottlieb's comments on Bronny, the LA Lakers star recently decided to call him out. Considering James is highly active on social media, it wasn't a surprise.

LBJ's comments must have reached Gottlieb as the Green Bay coach recently addressed the call out.

"This is not high school, middle school, AAU, it’s not even college. It’s the NBA, it’s the Lakers, and if you’re not comfortable with that, then maybe don’t force (Bronny James) into the NBA," Gottlieb said. "But I have no response for a dude on a day off, who’s got millions of dollars, sitting in L.A. tweeting at me.”

Doug Gottlieb fires back at LeBron James

“This is not high school, middle school, AAU, it’s not even college. It’s the NBA, it’s the Lakers, and if you’re not comfortable with that, then maybe don’t force (Bronny James) into the NBA. But I have no response for a dude on a day… pic.twitter.com/3SfXUIY35d
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) February 19, 2025

While it's true that the NBA is the best league in the world, it's still somewhat unfair to burden a second-round pick with so many expectations.

After all, Bronny has hardly featured on the Lakers roster this season. Instead, he has spent the majority of his rookie year playing for the South Bay Lakers in the G League.