During the awarding ceremony after the Los Angeles Lakers won the title in the NBA Bubble in 2020, LeBron James gave the ultimate mic drop moment: “I want my damn respect too.”
Unfortunately, despite his gazillion accomplishments and still being at the top of his game at 37 years old, LeBron still has a gazillion haters. Yes, it's part of the territory of being one of the greatest athletes in the history of humankind. But some of the criticisms against the Lakers superstar have been so misplaced, they border on ridiculousness.
In a report by TMZ, Lakers guard Kent Bazemore was asked about The King being blamed for their early vacation. Bazemore gave the perfect answer.
“Dude was third in the league in scoring? I mean what else do you want him to do? He put his body through a lot this year to be there for us. The dude has done a lot, man, I mean he’s chasing Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar). He’s done a lot for the game. He’s given a platform to a lot of people. He’s changing the world. So I mean, for him it’s bigger than hoop. For us it’s bigger than hoop. We aren’t just basketball players at the end of the day. So we get up, we work hard, we try to do the best we can, and that’s all we can do.”
It's worth noting that Bazemore not only mentioned LeBron's greatness on the court, but he also touched on LBJ's social contributions. That's why it's quite unfathomable how many people still hate the Lakers icon. They stubbornly refuse to acknowledge LBJ's legacy.
Whatever vitriol is thrown at him, one thing's for sure: The NBA will never have another guy like LeBron James.