Fact check: Did LeBron James take cheeky dig at Karl Malone’s statutory rape case?

LeBron James is a hot topic on social media right now after a photoshopped picture has gone viral. In the picture, he is posing with Hall of Famer Karl Malone and wishing him a happy birthday. However, the caption takes a slight dig at a situation in Malone's past.

In the caption of the photo of LeBron James and Karl Malone, it reads "age ain't nothing but a number." This is in reference to Malone's past, where he got a 13-year-old girl pregnant.

Back in the late 90's, a story came out that Malone was getting tied up in paternity lawsuits. At the time, he and John Stockton were one of the top duos in the NBA for the Utah Jazz.

As more news came out about the situation, it was revealed that Malone was involved with a teenage girl. When it happened, he was 20 years old and in college.

Because of this, Malone isn't around much since retiring. The photo the post is from is when LeBron broke Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's record to become the league's all-time leading scorer. Now, the former Jazz forward sits third behind the two LA Lakers legends.

Did LeBron James actually make the caption in photo with Karl Malone

While the picture of the two NBA legends might look real, it is not. The photo is clearly edited, and the account that posted it is a paradoy account. They are constantly posting photoshopped things in hopes of creating a frenzy on social media.

LeBron has been known to speak out on subjects he cares about, but he would never go out of his way in this kind of manner. Also, if he had actually posted this, it's something he would have never been able to avoid. The constant questioning about it would not be worth a slight dig in an instagram post.