Charles Barkley has once again doubled down on his criticism of LeBron James. Recently, in an interview with Bob Costas, Barkley noted that LeBron having stacked teams that find championship success have ‘hurt his legacy’. Barkley has come under fire for his comments about LeBron James, most notably receiving a response from James’ former teammate Richard Jefferson.
But for the most part, James has been quiet on the subject. He hasn’t put out any direct message disputing what Chuck had to say. And at the moment, it appears that LeBron won’t be making any comment going forward. But that surely was not the case in 2017.
During the 2016-17 NBA season, LeBron James, who was then with defending NBA champions Cleveland Cavaliers, spoke to the press about needing another playmaker because of how topheavy the team was. He noted that the team needed another playmaker aside from Kyrie Irving and himself.
https://twitter.com/NBAonTNT/status/824783251206082560
Charles Barkley was unhappy with these comments, going on a huge tirade against James and questioning whether he wants to compete or just wants to have all the best players on his team. James had been quiet for the most part when it came to criticism from the media, but he decided that he had enough and decided to get back at Chuck.
In an interview, James responded to Charles Barkley’s comments in an aggressive manner. He called Barkley a ‘hater’ and questioned his credentials to be questioning James. James added that Barkley’s poor record of behavior and mistakes off the court tarnished his legacy. Whereas, James has been one of the best representatives of the NBA so far. So he did not pay mind to someone like Barkley, whom he felt was trying to tarnish his legacy in the league.
Charles Barkley probably hates LeBron cuz the last time Bron clapped back, it was nothing but facts that hit his soul. https://t.co/QqkCgxzqpm pic.twitter.com/IYmV1cf7hu
— El Jefe (@klutchfamilia) August 5, 2021
“He’s a hater. 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. 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.”
Barkley would respond to those comments, but that seemed to be the end of the issue between the two of them. When the two did interact later during interviews and All-Star weekends, they seemed cordial with each other. But one can’t help but wonder how LeBron will react to these latest comments from Barkley.
