The world is attempting to figure out why Donald Trump decided to attack Lakers forward LeBron James and publicly question his intelligence via Twitter. The criticism is coming on the heels of James opening up a school for at-risk kids in his hometown of Akron, Ohio.
Trump's criticism could have been motivated by race, jealousy, or his own insecurities. It's likely that it was some mix of all these factors.
But Matt Barnes has a different theory. The former NBA player called out Trump on Instagram. The post was a collage of old Trump tweets heaping praise on King James with an adapted Eminem lyric. Barnes seems to think that Trump's criticism stems from the fact that James never responded or thanked Trump.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BmEQZV-lFeu/
Article Continues BelowJust so no one would get confused, Barnes included a number of clown emojis in the post. He made it quite clear who he's siding with in this feud.
This post is obviously a joke from Barnes, but there's probably some truth to it. James has been critical of Trump the past couple years and the president seems to attack anyone who doesn't heap mountains of praise on him. Any amount of criticism is seen as an insult of epic proportions and Donald Trump always seems to find the time to respond.
Along with Barnes, the entire NBA community is standing behind LeBron here. After opening the I Promise School, James received admiration from around the league.
It was an awfully strange time for the president to attack LeBron, but Matt Barnes has King James' back.