LeBron James hit back at critics who believe he’s a coach killer.
The criticisms have grown louder in the past week following the firing of David Blatt, which was widely blamed on James’s influence. LeBron had words for those who believe that he’s a destroyer of coaches.
“It sucks,” James said of his reputation Wednesday, via ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “But what can I do about it? I’ve never, in my time since I picked up a basketball, ever undermined a coach, ever disrespected a coach. You ask any of my little league coaches, my high school coaches, coaches I’ve played for in tournaments, camps, my NBA coaches, I’ve always respected what they wanted to do. And I’m not the owner of a team, I’m not the GM of a team, I’m the player of a team.
“People get it so misconstrued because I’m a smart basketball player and I’ve voiced my opinion about certain things, which I did when I was here my first stint with Paul Silas and Mike Brown. Which I did in Miami with Coach Spo (Erik Spoelstra). Which I did with Blatt and I’ll do with T-Lue. And at the end of the day, they’ll still have their final call.”
James said that he simply works hard to make sure he and his teammates get better.
“I don’t know,” James said. “What do you guys want me to do, turn my brain off because I have a huge basketball IQ? If that’s what they want me to do, I’m not going to do it because I’ve got so much to give to the game. There’s no difference for me telling my teammates or telling guys how to get better with their game. If I feel I got something that will help our team, ultimately, I like to give it. It helped me get two titles. So, but I think it does suck that people want to throw my name in dirt for no particular reason, because of speculation or whatever the case may be.”
James was reportedly not directly consulted in Blatt’s firing, but also allegedly made his discontent clear in other ways. The “LeBron the Coach Killer” narrative won’t be going away anytime soon, no matter what he says.
