LeBron James was not happy after enduring another loss to finish off his January, dropping the Cleveland Cavaliers record to 7-8 in the month, which is the first time a James-led team ended with a losing record since 2006. Last week, the 32-year-old pleaded through the media that the Cavs need to add another playmaker in order to repeat as champions.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=enCBX1RusRk
TNT analyst Charles Barkley called James’ comments “whiny” and “inappropriate” in addition to questioning the three-time champion’s competitiveness saying, “Does he want all of the good players? He don’t want to compete?” James heard enough of Barkley after last night’s loss to the Dallas Mavericks, and went on to ether the former pro-basketball player, who also said that James could never be a top five player of all-time, ESPN reports.
“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,” James said to ESPN. “I never had unpaid debt in Las Vegas. I never said, ‘I’m not a role m0odel.’ 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.”
“Go watch the ’93 Finals when John Paxson hit the shot,” James continued. “Barkley and Jordan were laughing and joking with each other during one of the games while somebody’s shooting a free throw. In the Finals. But, oh, nobody were friends back then…I know he wanted to retire a long time ago, but he can’t. He’s stuck up on that stage every week.” James then issued a challenge, of sorts. “And if this makes him want to talk to me, the schedule’s out there,” James said. “He knows every road arena I’ll be in. Don’t just come up to me at All-Star and shake my hand and smile.”
I love everything LeBron James said about the hater he need to stop drinking at work. TNT can I stop by and get a drink
— Charles Oakley (@CharlesOakley34) January 31, 2017
James didn’t stop there and concluded the night (Jan. 30) tweeting that he’s done biting his tongue. With the 13-time All-Star currently leading the NBA in minutes, the Cavaliers need to add another piece to the puzzle in order to compete with the Golden State Warriors, and lighten the workload of their star player.
Sometimes I gotta just make sure that i didn’t lose you. Did I?!?! Did I?!?! Did I Lose You
— LeBron James (@KingJames) January 31, 2017