"He's just punching down" - Doug Gottlieb accuses LeBron James of trolling him after Lakers star's pointed response to his unfiltered comments

LeBron James has plenty of fans, but he also has his fair share of haters. Throughout his NBA career, he's made sure to keep receipts about the latter, and he hasn't shied away from making an occasional comment every now and then.

That was the case again on February 12 when he took to X to dunk on radio host-turned-college basketball coach Doug Gottlieb.

Gottlieb's Wisconsin-Green Bay team has endured a brutal season, and James made fun of him after his team won their third game of the year to take their record to 3-24.

"Earned 2 Not Given! Gotta give him credit though!" James wrote with multiple laughing face emojis.

That's why, in an interview with CBS Sports, Gottlieb clapped right back at James, calling him "sad and petty."

“LeBron's a troll. He's just punching down. It's just sad and petty. Here's someone who has hundreds of millions of dollars living a luxurious life in L.A. tweeting about me on his off day,” Gottlieb said.

Doug Gottlieb once called LeBron James a 'bad basketball parent'

But why does LeBon James have it against Doug Gottlieb, one may ask?

The beef dates back to last year when Gottlieb criticized him for how he handled the Bronny James situation.

“This toxicity is based upon one guy. And LeBron is a good father, is a good parent, but he’s a bad basketball parent because he’s making people elevate his kid to a level that his skill is not close to being at,” Gottlieb said in November.

Gottlieb was one of the many analysts who doubted whether Bronny was NBA material. So it's easy to understand why James isn't much of a fan.

Bronny has spent some time with the Lakers' G-League affiliate this season, mostly playing home games. He's also made 17 appearances for the Purple & Gold, averaging 1.4 points, 0.4 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game on 25% shooting.