LeBron James gets a lot of praise regularly from several people; he is in the GOAT conversation for a reason, after all. But for all the fans of the King, there is an equally vocal group of fans and media members that simply love to criticize him. James has done things that he deserves to get called out for, but a lot of the hate against him seems petty and over the top. Skip Bayless is an excellent example of this, but far from the only one.
Unfortunately, his incredible achievements over the years have left the people that don’t like LeBron with very little ammunition. His Finals record is probably the most giant stick used to beat him with, especially when it comes to comparisons with Michael Jordan. And it’s the fact that he has at times passed in the clutch that also comes up time and again, although it can get shut down pretty hard.
NBA Legend Rick Barry Defended LeBron James In 2017 When Rob Parker Tried To Call Him Out For Passing In The Clutch
LeBron James has always been about making the right play and not scoring himself. This means he has often passed up shots late in games. Many try to use this against him, as NBA analyst Rob Parker did in 2017 when LeBron passed to Kyle Korver in the dying minutes of Game 3 in the NBA Finals. But NBA legend Rick Barry was on hand to defend James, and he got into a pretty epic fight with Parker in the process. Barry has always been a fiery character, as evidenced by his take on Wilt Chamberlain.
Rick Barry put Rob Parker in a damn body bag… 💀 pic.twitter.com/dqW88ZcV4a
— College Sports Only 🏈🏀⚾️ (@CollegeSportsO) June 11, 2017
Barry: “There’s no guarantee [LeBron’s] gonna make it; there’s no guarantee he’s going to get fouled, and he had one of the best 3-point shooters in the damn game open and he threw it to him, so please get off his case.”
Parker: “C’mon, Rick. Rick, you gotta stop.”
Barry: “No, you gotta stop because you don’t know the game. You guys don’t know the game and should be ashamed of yourself.”
Parker: “No, no, no. I’ve been covering basketball forever.”
Barry: “I don’t care how long you’ve been covering it; you didn’t play the game. And if you make that comment, you don’t know the game.”
Parker: “Rick, you don’t know radio and you don’t know journalism.”
Barry: “I know radio. I’ve done radio for years.”
Parker: “No you don’t. No you don’t. You’re a basketball player. You guys kill me. It’s always the same thing: You didn’t play basketball, so you don’t know basketball.”
Barry: “That’s exactly right.”
Parker: “It’s ridiculous, Rick. Respect journalism and respect people…”
Barry: “You’re a loser.”
Parker: “No, you are. You’re a loser, Rick. Hang up on him.”
As a former NBA champion, a Finals MVP, and an 8-time All-Star, Rick Barry’s word certainly has a lot of weight when it comes to basketball matters. And a lot of the criticism LeBron James gets is quite contrived from time to time as well. It’s always interesting to remember a time when a great of the game put a media member in their place with some scathing criticism.
