During Michael Beasley‘s brief NBA career, the forward had an opportunity to play alongside several great NBA players. In this regard, his second stint with the Miami Heat was particularly special as he played with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh.
Michael Beasley’s accounts from that era have typically been engaging, with him suggesting that he was the only player to have beaten James in a 1v1 setting. However, during a recent appearance on the “Club Shay Shay” podcast with Shannon Sharpe, Beasley revealed that he wanted to smack some of his teammates for disrespecting him, including LeBron James.
“I never smacked none of them. I should have. They all disrespected me to my face and thought I was cool. I laughed. I should’ve smacked a lot of them,” Beasley stated.
“LeBron came to me in 2014 when I was just sitting there after practice. It was D-Wade, Bron, Ray Allen, Chris Bosh, and Chris Anderson (Birdman). They was all getting treatment.”
“These are people I grew up watching, so I’m just admiring the conversations. Bron walked up to me and was like, ‘Beasley, you are a scary dude. It’s just the way you look.’ I know he ain’t mean what he meant by it, but that’s what you all take me as.”
“I come, I’m just silent because I don’t know what to say,” he added. “Then I just get too afraid to tell you that I’m afraid, and then now, y’all are just going to judge me with your own minds without asking me about mine.”
From Michael Beasley’s perspective, the whole situation seems like a big misunderstanding.
Given that he was drafted by the Miami Heat in 2008, Beasley had already seen Dwyane Wade in action with the Heat. Now, in the presence of superstars like LeBron James, Chris Bosh, and Ray Allen, all of whom had won championships in Miami, he was just starstruck.
Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said for the veterans, who didn’t share the same opinion of Beasley due to the poor reputation he earned because of his lack of discipline and recurring off-court issues.
For all intents and purposes, Beasley’s frustration is understandable. When considering the sheer star power on the Heat roster during the 2013-14 season, being overwhelmed is almost justified. To add to that, being called out by someone he admired only added to Beasley’s discomfort.
In all fairness, Michael Beasley’s second stint in Miami wasn’t very promising either. Given that he played a secondary role in the rotation, playing only 16.9 minutes per game over two years, his averages of 8.2 points and 3.3 rebounds on 47.4% shooting from the field don’t necessarily jump off the page.
After the 2014-15 season, the forward bounced around different teams, gaining real recognition with the New York Knicks during the 2017-18 season, averaging 13.2 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. Although he teamed up with LeBron James again in the 2018-19 season on the Los Angeles Lakers, this was coincidentally his last season in the NBA.
