Jason Whitlock thinks LeBron James has changed for the worse over the years, and he believes the likes of Skip Bayless and Stephen A. Smith are a big reason why. On the latest episode of Fearless with Jason Whitlock, the controversial analyst claimed that James not knowing his father led to him shaping his identity based on what the media has said about him.
“LeBron played with great joy; he was not this angry person that he has become later in his career,” Whitlock said. “The person that confronted Stephen A. Smith here just last week on the sidelines. Basically threatening Stephen A. Smith. That is not who LeBron James was at the beginning. He was not on that path.”
Whitlock then shared a clip of James joyfully dancing with his Cleveland Cavaliers teammates before a game against the Chicago Bulls in 2009. He wishes that was the individual we’d still be seeing today.
“LeBron’s spirit is naturally joyful,” Whitlock stated. “How did he get here? How did he become the angry guy, the desperate guy? One, and I’ll connect it to what I said in the previous segment, he was raised in a matriarchal culture and in a matriarchal household.
“LeBron James doesn’t know his father,” Whitlock continued. “Either one, his heavenly father or his earthly father, in my opinion… So. LeBron’s identity can be shaped by others because he doesn’t have a dad,” Whitlock said. “It’s like, ‘No baby boy, that ain’t what we’re doing. These people don’t define you. I define you. I’m your father.'”
Whitlock reckons that James not having his father to guide him in his late teens and early 20s has hurt him tremendously.
“LeBron didn’t go through that process,” Whitlock stated. “And so outsiders, someone like Skip Bayless and ESPN and Stephen A. Smith, they got to tell LeBron James like ‘Hey, let me define what success is for you and we’re going to have that discussion every day on ESPN and success for you LeBron is not attained until you reach Michael Jordan levels of perfection.”
LeBron’s spirit is naturally joyful. How did he become this angry, bitter man that we see today? He was raised in a matriarchal culture and household; he doesn’t know his father. Because of this, he has allowed people like Skip Bayless and Stephen A. Smith to shape his identity. pic.twitter.com/Yoq4id6OEL
— Jason Whitlock (@WhitlockJason) March 10, 2025
That’s quite the take from Whitlock. It has been reported that James’ father was a man named Anthony McClelland and that he wasn’t involved in his life. That left the task of raising the little boy to his mother, Gloria James, and she did the best she could for him.
Would James be a different person today if his father had been a part of his life? Sure. That would be the case for anyone in his situation. Would things have panned out the way Whitlock claims? Well, you be the judge of that.
All this talk, of course, has stemmed from James confronting Stephen A. Smith during a game between the Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks. It was later confirmed by Smith that LeBron had done so because of comments that had been made about Bronny James. Stephen A. didn’t believe he had said or done anything wrong, but LeBron clearly disagreed.
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