LeBron James tends to stay above some of the media criticism and scrutiny he faces, but it seems he is readying a response.
James tweeted on Thursday that the “throne” had been messed with too much and said he had some “ether coming soon!”
Alright alright. Enough is enough. The throne has been played with to much and I ain’t for horseplay. Ether coming soon! #JamesGang
— LeBron James (@KingJames) August 1, 2019
What has LeBron so chapped that he’s promising a response? It’s possible he has some marketing plans ahead and this was only meant in a joking way. But if he is being serious, it seems some of the recent scrutiny is the reason why.
First, LeBron took criticism over his behavior at son Bronny’s basketball games. Next came comments from former Cleveland Cavaliers executive David Griffin, who in a feature for Sports Illustrated, questioned LeBron’s hunger to win.
Griffin said after LeBron delivered on his promise to the city by bringing the Cavaliers their first championship, James lost his same focus about winning.
“There wasn’t a lot else for him,” Griffin told SI. “I don’t think he’s the same animal anymore about winning.”
Griffin, who is now running the New Orleans Pelicans, touched on how difficult the culture in Cleveland was largely due to the pressure of needing to bring James a championship.
“The reason is LeBron is getting all the credit and none of the blame. And that’s not fun for people,” Griffin said. “They don’t like being part of that world.”
“Everything we did was so inorganic and unsustainable and, frankly, not fun. I was miserable,” Griffin says. “Literally the moment we won the championship I knew I was gonna leave. There was no way I was gonna stay for any amount of money.”
If James needed any extra motivation entering the season beyond simply missing the playoffs last year, Griffin questioning his hunger to win is sure to get it done. It seems James is already ticked off, and that could be bad news for the rest of the league, just as Magic Johnson has predicted.
