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LeBron James is considered by many to be the greatest basketball player to have ever played in the NBA.
Since joining the league in 2003 with the Cleveland Cavaliers, James has grown into one of the most influential players in the league, and is easily the most popular basketball player on the planet. Regardless, LeBron has been involved in a fair share of feuds and altercations that have on most occasions not spilled onto the public eye. In this article we look at incidents when LeBron James was publicly criticized by active/former NBA players.
Five players who have publicly criticized LeBron James
Perhaps James’ most famous feud was with Cleveland Cavaliers majority owner Dan Gilbert, whose comments brought forth the argument that LeBron went to the Miami Heat to form a super-team. Additionally, the amount of influence that LeBron tends to have over his franchises can often be considered “toxic,” and is said to be the reason why Kyrie Irving left the Cavaliers in 2017. These are the five players who have publicly criticized the LA Lakers’ superstar:
#5 Deshawn Stevenson
Back in 2008, LeBron James had a run-in with former Washington Wizards guard Deshawn Stevenson. Stevenson’s Wizards had won a regular-season game against a 23-year old LeBron James who was still searching for his first championship. After the match, Stevenson said the following,
"He's overrated. And you can say I said that"
This was followed by Stevenson mocking LeBron during a postseason game, which the Cavaliers won. The pair locked horns again in the 2011 NBA Finals, with Deshawn Stevenson part of a Dirk Nowitzki-led Dallas Mavericks side that won the championship. Stevenson followed up by publicly wearing a t-shirt mocking LeBron James, who to his credit did not speak out.
#4 Charles Barkley
Before LeBron James packed bags and left for the Lakers in 2018, he publicly demanded the Cleveland Cavaliers’ front-office to build a team capable of winning the championship around him. Since leading the team to a championship two seasons ago, James has said that the Cavaliers were a top-heavy team and needed defensive reinforcements, something Barkley thought was whiny. He said,
“Inappropriate. Whiny. All of the above. The Cleveland Cavaliers, they have given him everything he wanted. They have the highest payroll in NBA history. He wanted J.R. Smith last summer, they paid him. ... They brought in Kyle Korver. He's the best player in the world. Does he want all of the good players? He don't want to compete? He is an amazing player. They're the defending champs."
In response, LeBron James claimed that the TNT analyst was a hater.
"I'm not going to let him disrespect my legacy like that. I'm not the one who threw somebody through a window. I never spit on a kid. I never had unpaid debt in Las Vegas. I never said, “I'm not a role model.” I never showed up to All-Star Weekend on Sunday because I was in Vegas all weekend partying. All I've done for my entire career is represent the NBA the right way. Fourteen years, never got in trouble. Respected the game. Print that.”
#3 CJ McCollum
During the recent play-in tournament match between LeBron James’ LA Lakers and Stephen Curry’s Golden State Warriors, James hit a clutch three to finish the game for his team. Minutes ago, he was fouled by Draymond Green and the star later claimed that he was suffering from double-vision, and aimed at the “middle basket” out of the three he could see.
However, as James sat on the sidelines nursing his injury, Portland Trail Blazers’ CJ McCollum tweeted the following,
McCollum later claimed that LeBron simply wanted to be rested for his free throws, and was acting to be injured. Whatever the truth, it was one of the rare occasions when an active player criticized him on social media.
#2 Paul Pierce
Paul Pierce had his best years playing for the Boston Celtics, back when LeBron James had only arrived in the NBA. Regardless, the hype surrounding him made quite a few players feel “disrespected,” which in Pierce’s case came out in an unfortunate way.
During a preseason game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Pierce spat at the Cleveland Cavaliers’ bench, reportedly getting LeBron in particular. Paul Pierce’s former teammate Kendrick Perkins claimed that it was a result of a personal “beef” between thee two, although Pierce himself later claimed that it meant nothing, and the pair have since made up.
"You know the crazy thing about it was, it was a preseason game, that didn't mean anything," Pierce said. "I don't know, me and LeBron going back and forth, the bench is yelling at something. And I look over at the bench, and I'm like, 'That's why y'all are on the bench' or something, and I spit at them. And I'm not sure I hit somebody or not, but I spit in that direction. And then it just kind of — tempers flared up, the next thing you know, we was in the hallway, it was about to go down. That's just kind of, like, the basis of everything."
#1 Shaquille O’Neal
After recently criticizing the NBA on Twitter for its jam-packed schedule due to the Coronavirus crisis and the resulting injuries that virtually every NBA team suffered this season, Shaquille O’Neal claimed the following about LeBron James’ comments.
“When you’re living in a world where 40 million people have been laid off and I’m making $200 million, you won’t get no complaining from me,” the former Los Angeles Lakers star and TNT broadcaster said. I’d play back to back to back to back to back. I’m not knocking what anybody said, but me personally, I don’t complain and make excuses, because real people are working their tail off and all we gotta do is train two hours a day and then play a game for two hours at night and make a lot of money. … So my thought process is a little different.”
The former Lakers legend thought James was paid enough not to have to complain about having to play continuously. Regardless, the criticism is not just sourced from LeBron James, with a number of coaches also stating that fatigue-related injuries were taking a toll on their rosters.
Guess the Lakers players!
