*Charles Barkley has been critical of LeBron James for years – most recently calling out the NBA star for saying publicly that his world champion Cleveland Cavaliers need another playmaker to make a legitimate run for another title.
On Monday night, King James finally responded in a clap back heard around the sporting world and beyond.
“He’s a hater,” James told ESPN of Barkley following the Cavs’ 104-97 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Monday. “What makes what he says credible? Because he’s on TV?”
Barkley’s comments were made during his analyst gig on TNT’s “Inside the NBA.”
“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.”
Barkley also ripped James last summer, telling HBO’s Bill Simmons that James would “never” ascend to top-five status in NBA history over Michael Jordan, Oscar Robertson, Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlain. He also trashed Lebron’s 2010 “The Decision” television special, when Barkley told ESPN Radio 103.3 FM in Dallas/Fort Worth that it was a “punk move” for James to leave the Cavs to take up with the Miami Heat.
James initially took the high road when asked about Barkley’s recent comments, saying they were “good for the ratings,” while defending his competitive spirit. Watch below:
But after ESPN followed up with a story asking Tristan Thompson for his thoughts on Barkley’s comments, James chose to speak out again.
“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.”
James, whose friendships with Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony have also been called into question, recalled watching a 1993 NBA Finals game between Jordan’s Chicago Bulls and Barkley’s Phoenix Suns and being surprised what he saw on his screen.
“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.”
James continued: “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.
“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.”
James also spoke up about the perception he and his inner circle face as young, successful black businessmen, believing that identity being so rare in the power structure of professional sports makes him and his partners targets.
“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.”
James put on his baseball cap and offered a parting thought as he prepared to leave the visitors locker room at the American Airlines Center to head to the airport for a flight back to Cleveland.
“I’m tired of biting my tongue,” James said. “There’s a new sheriff in town.”
Watch Barkley’s comments below:
Below, reaction to LeBron’s clap back:
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