Charles Barkley has never backed down from criticizing LeBron James, and LeBron has finally heard enough of it.
After James complained about the Cleveland Cavaliers’ not putting enough pieces around him, Barkley ripped LeBron for being “whiny” and acting in an “inappropriate” manner. LeBron has typically taken the high road when called about by Barkley in the past, but he finally exploded following his team’s loss to the Dallas Mavericks Monday night.
“He’s a hater,” James told ESPN’s Dave McMenamin when asked about Barkley. “What makes what he says credible? Because he’s on TV?
“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.”
Barkley has been lobbing grenades at James for years, and LeBron has obviously been letting the frustration build. He let it all out on Monday, even firing back at Barkley for comments Sir Charles has made in the past about James being too friendly with some opposing players like Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony.
“Go watch the ’93 Finals when John Paxson hit the shot,” LeBron added. “Barkley and (Michael) Jordan were laughing and joking with each other during one of the games while somebody’s shooting a free throw. In the Finals. But, oh, nobody were friends back then.”
LeBron has listened to Barkley rag on him for everything from the hair on his head to his place in basketball history. If you ask James, the criticism is uncalled for and a result of Barkley’s frustration with himself.
“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,” LeBron said. “I’m here to win ballgames and take care of my teammates and take care of my, what’s that word, oh, my ‘posse.'”
The “posse” remark was an obvious shot at Phil Jackson, but LeBron quickly turned his attention back to Barkley.
“I know he wanted to retire a long time ago, but he can’t,” he 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.”
Your move, Sir Charles.
Plenty of people agree with Barkley that LeBron was wrong to publicly criticize the Cavs’ front office, but the three-time NBA champion’s animated reaction was about way more than that. LeBron torching Barkley has been a long time coming.
