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LeBron James has apparently had enough of Charles Barkley’s criticism as he lashed out in an EPIC rant ripping Chuck to shreds following Monday night’s game.
James, as big a star as he is, receives as much criticism as anyone, but Barkley has been especially critical and recently made it a point to call LeBron out for what he perceived to be “whining.”
Reports ESPN…
“Inappropriate. Whiny. All of the above,” Barkley said of James last week. “The Cleveland Cavaliers, they have given him everything he wanted. They have the highest payroll in NBA history. He wanted J.R. Smith last summer, they paid him. He wanted [Iman] Shumpert last summer. They brought in Kyle Korver. He’s the best player in the world. Does he want all of the good players? He don’t want to compete? He is an amazing player. They’re the defending champs.”
That appears to have been the straw that broke the camel’s, or in this case, The King’s back.
“He’s a hater,” James told ESPN of Barkley following the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 104-97 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Monday. “What makes what he says credible? Because he’s on TV?”
But wait, LeBron wasn’t done there. Not by a LONG SHOT…
“I’m not going to let him disrespect my legacy like that,” James told ESPN. “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.”
Then James decided to bring up criticisms of his friendships with Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony…
“Go watch the ’93 Finals when John Paxson hit the shot,” James said. “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.”
Just dropping bombs all over the place, LeBron still wasn’t finished…
“I know he wanted to retire a long time ago, but he can’t,” James said. “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.”
As for all the talk that he “runs” the team?
“I collect one paycheck from this,” James said of his role with the Cavs. “There’s the owner, Griff’s [David Griffin] the GM, I’m the player. Screw Charles Barkley.”
And being the closer that he is, James ended it with this, “I’m tired of biting my tongue. There’s a new sheriff in town.”
Wow.
Oh yeah, James also managed to sideswipe Phil Jackson in the midst of his amazing diatribe.
Check it all out here.