Iman Shumpert recently had a lot to say about his former teammate LeBron James. Shumpert spoke in an interview, during which he said that LeBron ruined basketball when he moved to the Miami Heat and formed a superteam with his friends Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.
When fans pointed out that there had been superteams before LeBron’s move to Miami, Shumpert doubled down, saying that LeBron was the first player to use his power and leverage to form a superteam, and the superteams of the past were created because of the GM’s power and influence.
Because of these comments, many accused Shumpert of bad-mouthing LeBron James. Some were upset that Shumpert, someone who won a championship alongside James and benefitted greatly from playing with him would turn around and accuse him of ruining basketball.
But Shumpert maintains that he is not bad-mouthing LeBron James, and doesn’t even think it is possible. On his Instagram story, Shumpert said that he isn’t bad-mouthing LeBron James and that his career is too good to be insulted. He then accused people of pushing a false narrative based on their perception of him.
LeBron's former Cavs teammate Iman Shumpert denies 'bad mouthing' James after claiming that the Lakers star 'ruined basketball.'
(via @imanshumpert on IG) pic.twitter.com/4KZgcpSmQI
— Paolo Songco (@PaoloSongcoNBA) December 23, 2021
“Lmao at the people who think I bad-mouthed Bron. If you watch the interview… he was praised. It’s impossible to bash that type of career. People just don’t like when you speak and pick a side.”
Shumpert has always maintained the love and admiration he has for LeBron James. But he isn’t afraid to speak his mind, even if it is against LeBron James. He is one of LeBron’s many teammates, friends, and even rivals that picked Michael Jordan over LeBron as the GOAT.
LeBron hasn’t responded to Shumpert’s comments as of yet. Perhaps he believes that Shumpert didn’t have any bad intentions when he made the comments that he did. But one has to imagine that these comments wouldn’t sit well with LeBron, who has been very fond and complimentary of Shumpert in the past.
