After having his competitiveness called into question, LeBron James has heard enough. When the four-time MVP called out the Cavaliers and asked for more help in the form of better players there was some backlash. This is not particularly uncommon either, James is used to scrutiny at every quote and remark he makes. But after a tumultuous month that saw the Cavs lose eight games, King James is firing back.
Last week Hall of Fame player and TNT analyst Charles Barkley ripped LeBron for continuing to ask for more and more help despite the Cavaliers’ payroll. This, via ESPN’s Dave McMenamin
“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. He wanted [Iman] Shumpert last summer. 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.”
This is not the first time Barkley has gone off on James either. Last summer he told HBO’s Bill Simmons that LeBron will “never” be a top-five player of all time with the likes of Michael Jordan, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson, or Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He also went back to 2010 too and (like many) ripped James for the infamous “Decision” where he left Cleveland for Miami. LeBron just let those comments go by as “good for ratings”, but things are different now.
James decided to speak out and defend his time in the NBA and all that he has accomplished. This also from ESPN and McMenamin:
“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.”
James has a right to defend his legacy and the things he has done, whether good or bad. He has owned up to “The Decision” and wishes he would’ve handled his departure from Cleveland differently. Whether Barkley considers him a top five player in NBA history or not, there is no denying that James has had a profound impact on the game.
It does not stop there, James had more words for Barkley. He continues to ESPN,
“I know he wanted to retire a long time ago, but he can’t,” James said. “He’s stuck up on that stage every week. And if this makes him want to talk to me, the schedule’s out there. He knows every road arena I’ll be in. Don’t just come up to me at All-Star and shake my hand and smile.
LeBron James has a persona that goes beyond sports, but his role in the NBA is and always has been as a player. The perception that he is pulling the Cavs’ front office strings not only gets under James’ skin, but is also abundantly false. LeBron had some closing words on his role with the Cavs and final thoughts about Charles Barkley:
“I collect one paycheck from this. There’s the owner, Griff’s [David Griffin] the GM, I’m the player. Screw Charles Barkley. I’m tired of biting my tongue. There’s a new sheriff in town.”
James has been boiling about Barkley’s comments for several days now, but LeBron has a former player vouching for him too. Former NBA enforcer Charles Oakley, a Cleveland native, tweeted about the situation between James and Barkley:
I love everything LeBron James said about the hater he need to stop drinking at work. TNT can I stop by and get a drink
— Charles Oakley (@CharlesOakley34) January 31, 2017
LeBron should not not have to feel the need to defend his NBA career and legacy. But the poor play from him and the Cavaliers coupled with the malaise of January, the need to speak up was getting more and more necessary for him.
