LeBron James constantly has his hairline made fun of. Despite being one of the greatest players of all time, fans and NBA personalities fixate on the hairline, and often mock James over it receeding every year. Most recently, it was Charles Barkley doing it on TNT. And even his teammates poked fun at it, including J.R. Smith in 2015.
In an interview with GQ Sports, J.R. Smith joked that he tells LeBron James about his hairline and tries to console him. He playfully suggested that James’ receding hairline was the price of ‘having it all’ and that he would give up his hair in order to achieve LeBron’s level of fame, wealth, and success.
“I tell him you can’t have everything. I tell him all the time: You can’t have it all! You have to give up one thing, and it just so happened it’s your hair. If someone told me I’m gonna give you $600 million but I’m going to take your hair? Take my hair!”
Smith could probably joke about LeBron because of the close relationship they share. That relationship has stayed strong throughout the years. This interview occurred in 2015, before James, Smith, and the Cavaliers won the 2016 NBA championship, which created a bond between the two that will last forever.
And while there were some low points, like Game 1 of the 2018 NBA Finals where Smith cost the Cavaliers the game, they have stayed close. James even recruited Smith to join the Lakers in 2020, and the duo won yet another NBA championship together.
James has expressed his love and affection for Smith on numerous occasions, even shouting out Smith when he made his NCAA golf debut, and telling him how proud of him he was. Their relationship has grown very close over the years, which is why James probably didn’t take offense to the comments about his hair.
