One Los Angeles Lakers legend will not be getting invited to Taco Tuesday at LeBron James’ house.
After this week’s preseason opener against the Sacramento Kings, the Lakers star James was asked about Basketball Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as he closes in on Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time NBA scoring record.
James bluntly replied that he had “no thoughts and no relationship” with the big man great Abdul-Jabbar.
LeBron was asked about his thoughts & relationship with Kareem.
“No thoughts & no relationship.”
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) October 4, 2022
The four-time champion James likely has a sour taste in his mouth because of Abdul-Jabbar’s harsh public criticisms of him. Abdul-Jabbar, a longtime activist who has amplified his voice for social change through op-ed pieces in recent years, has gone after James multiple times since James became a Laker. Abdul-Jabbar has taken issues with everything from James’ sharing of supposed misinformation regarding the COVID-19 pandemic to James’ antics on the basketball court. You can read more about their history here.
James now appears to hitting back at Abdul-Jabbar lately and left the 75-year-old off a recent list of his all-time Lakers (though James did include himself on the list).
What do you think about LeBron's all-time Lakers starting five? 🤔
🏀: https://t.co/Z0npt9rjHN pic.twitter.com/0dMGFFfnGL
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) October 1, 2022
In fairness, Abdul-Jabbar has backtracked and issued public apologies to James over his various criticisms. In a new op-ed piece, Abdul-Jabbar even said James’ activism as an athlete was on par with those of Muhammad Ali, Bill Russell, Billie Jean King, Arthur Ashe, and Colin Kaepernick. But nonetheless, James still seems to be holding a grudge against No. 33.
