LeBron James rips ‘hater’ Charles Barkley in postgame rant
Former Sixers great Charles Barkley is never shy about offering his opinion, even when it comes to LeBron James.
Last Thursday during a segment on TNT's Inside the NBA, Barkley called the Cleveland Cavaliers superstar "whiny" for publicly demanding his team sign better players.
"Inappropriate. Whiny. All of the above," Barkley said, noting the team already has the highest payroll in the league and acquired J.R. Smith, Iman Shumpert, and Kyle Korver at James' request.
"He's the best player in the world. Does he want all of the good players?" Barkley continued. "He doesn't want to compete? He is an amazing player. They're the defending champs."
It's not the first time Barkley has jabbed James. Back in the summer, he told Bill Simmons on his short-lived HBO show Any Given Wednesday that he would "never" rank James among his top 5 all-time NBA players. Barkley also called James' decision to jump to the Miami Heat in 2010 a "punk move."
After the Cavaliers' 104-97 loss against the Dallas Mavericks on Monday night, James had enough of Barkley's comments, and questioned his credibility as a basketball analyst. "He's a hater," James said of Barkley. "What makes what he says credible? Because he's on TV?"
"I'm not going to let him disrespect my legacy like that," James told ESPN's Dave McMenamin after the game. "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."
The kid James referred to was an 8-year-old girl whom Barkley inadvertently spat on while trying to reach a heckler during a 1991 game against the New Jersey Nets at the Meadowlands. Barkley was fined and suspended for the incident.
"All I've done for my entire career is represent the NBA the right way," James continued. "Fourteen years, never got in trouble. Respected the game. Print that."
James also issued a challenge to Barkley.
"And if this makes him want to talk to me, the schedule's out there," James said. "He knows every road arena I'll be in. Don't just come up to me at [the All-Star game] and shake my hand and smile."
While Barkley might not be a fan of James, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady apparently likes him so much, he'd love to have him on his roster in New England.
"Tight end. Split him out, just throw it up. He'd come down with a lot of them," Brady said, in response to being asked which NBA player he wished the Patriots could sign.