Every once in a while, even the King needs a little motivation. Fortunately for LeBron James, his list of haters stretches far and wide.
In the latest episode of “The Shop: Uninterrupted,” the Lakers superstar revealed the search he carries out before some games, which usually involves some nameless detractor in the stands.
“I go out on the floor during warm-ups and I’ll just be looking for a LeBron hater. I just need one of them. I’ll be like, ‘Please, let me find this one LeBron hater. I need it.’ In the crowd, for warm-ups, it’s like 20 minutes before the game starts and I’m just looking like, ‘Oh, I found this motherf–ker. Oh yeah, I’m ready. I’m gonna be ready to go tonight.'”
LeBron is usually pretty good about avoiding confrontations with his critics. Over the years, he has let his play do most of the talking.
Still, there have been a few incidents in the past where he has stood up for himself.
“He’s a hater,” James said about Charles Barkley in in 2017. “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.”
Over the past 18 and a half years, LeBron has been a model of decency and professionalism. He rarely gets caught in scandals, always says and does the right things, and constantly pours into the community.
On the court, his game has been close to flawless. He’s an 18x All-Star, 4x MVP, and 17x All-NBA player.
Apparently, we have some of his critics to thank for keeping him so motivated after all these years.
