The LeBron James drama continues to grow in Cleveland and boy, is it ever juicy.
One week after a profanity-laden outburst about his team’s roster, the Cavaliers star ripped into TNT analyst Charles Barkley following Monday night’s loss to the Dallas Mavericks.
Barkley, a veteran of 16 NBA seasons, had been vocal in recent days about James, calling him “whiny” and questioning his recent complaints to the media.
“He’s a hater,” James told ESPN, adding in some personal shots at Barkley’s controversial past. “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. 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.”
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The defending-champion Cavaliers finished January with a 7-8 record and James leads the NBA in playing time, averaging 37.5 minutes per game. His comments last week were punctuated by his now famous quote: “We need a f—ing playmaker,” to which Barkley chimed in, saying, “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.”
The 32-year-old three-time NBA champ James has been a constant target for Barkley, with the Hall of Famer repeatedly criticizing the Cavs star over the past several years.
James said he’s had enough.
“And if this makes him want to talk to me, the schedule’s out there,” he said Monday. “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’m tired of biting my tongue,” James added. “There’s a new sheriff in town.”
Charles Oakley, who spent 19 years in the NBA and famously fought Barkley during a pre-season game, chimed in on Twitter Tuesday morning.
James’s good friend and former Miami Heat teammate Dwyane Wade offered his comments on Barkley Tuesday afternoon and did not mince words.
“LeBron is who he is, we all have flaws but when your flaws are a little bit more, you should shut up,” Wade said, according to Vincent Goodwill of CSN Chicago. “When you (Barkley) have a history and you can google your history, be a little careful of what you say. Sometimes when guys get a microphone in their face they just talk and talk, they forget their history, especially that guy.”