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In the latest drama of hot take sports media, there appears to be growing beef between ESPN analyst JJ Redick and former Miami Heat standout Mario Chalmers.
It has been just a few days since Chalmers' comments surfaced of teams not fearing LeBron James, his former teammate, in the way they did with Michael Jordan. On ESPN's "First Take," Redick, a 15-year NBA veteran, shot back:
"How we view fear, like 'I'm scared and cowering in a corner' that doesn't exist," Redick said. "But by the definition of fear, there's actually a lot of players that instill fear in a coaching staff when you're game-planning, in players when you're looking towards a matchup. Like, there's a danger, there's a threat, there's pain. It's losing.
"Those things all come about because of losing, and LeBron James has won a lot and caused a lot of those emotions."
Redick was responding to Mario Chalmers saying:
"Nobody fears Bron. Nobody's like, 'Damn, I gotta go play against Bron tonight.' Nobody says that."
LeBron James vs. Michael Jordan debate
There will likely never be an end to the debate about the greatest player in NBA history. LeBron James and Michael Jordan continue to be the staples of the conversation and rightfully so based on their wild success. Each player and person has their own stylistic and personality preferences that sway them toward one side or another.
It was surprising to see Mario Chalmers seemingly taking some shots at his former teammate. Chalmers played alongside James on the Miami Heat from 2010-14. Across those four seasons, the Heat won two NBA championships and Chalmers was a rotation player throughout.
Chalmers last played for the Memphis Grizzlies in 2017-18 but has been out of the NBA since that point. Across his career, he averaged 8.9 points, 3.7 assists and 2.5 rebounds in his 26.7 minutes per game.
In contrast, LeBron James is not done writing his legacy and is currently focused on returning to the court to help elevate the Lakers to a postseason run. The NBA's all-time leading scorer has been out with a foot injury since Feb. 28 but still looks to have plenty of life in his legs at this stage of his career.
No comment has been from James on Chalmers' statement, but Redick and several other talking heads have more than had his back.
Guess the Lakers players!
