Draymond Green, Charles Barkley and more: 5 NBA superstars who have feuded with LeBron James
LeBron James has been in the NBA for more than half his life-time. The 37-year-old is entering his 20th season in the league this year.
James is famous for not engaging in conflict on the court and keeping a stellar record as a player. However, he has had several feuds and fights over the years. He faced the first-ever suspension of his 19-year career last season and has hardly ever been fined by the league.
Over the course of his career, James has almost never started a fight or an on-court scuffle. He is often considered the greatest of all time and those who don't think he is, will concede that he is at least in the top five on that list.
However, there are also many players who don't consider him to be the best and will do anything to prove that he is not worth the hype. So over the years, many players have tried to pick some sort of fight with him just to get in the public eye.
Without further ado, let's see five high-profile players who have gotten into altercations with LeBron James.
#1 DeShawn Stevenson
DeShawn Stevenson had a beef with LeBron James during his early days with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Back in 2008, when Stevenson was with the Washington Wizards, he called James "overrated" and it took the NBA world by storm. He made the absurd statement after the Wizards defeated the Cavaliers in a regular-season game where he dropped a three on James' head. Stevenson said:
"He's overrated. And you can say I said that."
LeBron James then responded by comparing them to rappers, saying:
"It's almost like Jay Z saying something bad about Soulja Boy."
12 years ago this week, DeShawn Stevenson called LeBron overrated to which Bron replied “Me replying to DeShawn Stevenson is like Jay-Z replying to Soulja Boy” then Jay-Z dropped a Stevenson diss track over Too Short’s ‘Blow The Whistle’ classic and James TORCHED the Wizards 😤🔥 https://t.co/Kk19tsjAwK
James compared himself to Jay-Z, a 24-time Grammy award winner, and Stevenson to Soulja Boy, who had just a few hit songs.
Hilarously, Jay-Z and Soulja Boy got involved as well. The former released a DeShawn Stevenson diss track called "Blow the Whistle" where he said:
"Uh! Ask my ni**a Lebron! We so big we ain't gotta respond."
Soulja Boy, on the other hand, showed up at Capital One Arena in a Stevenson Wizards jersey.
It's worth noting that LeBron James destroyed the Wizards in the first round of the playoffs in 2008. He averaged 29.8 points, 7.7 assists, 9.5 rebounds, 1.3 steals and 1.3 blocks per game in their series, which the Cavaliers won.
However, Stevenson got the better of the "King" in the 2011 NBA Finals while playing for the Mavericks against James and the Miami Heat.
@KDonhoops DeShawn Stevenson: LeBron still 'Overrated.' tinyurl.com/42scyzt
#2 Joakim Noah
Joakim Noah almost seemed to consider LeBron James his arch-rival.
Noah circled the dates when he would face James on the calendar, mocked him on the court and publicly suggested that he wasn't afraid of him. Noah was with the Chicago Bulls and they faced James' Cavaliers and Heat teams on several occasions.
The "King" gotten the better of Noah in a seven-game series more often than not.
Here's a throwback to four times Joakim Noah wished LeBron James a happy birthday (we think). https://t.co/gzrOTk405u
Noah even disrespected the city of Cleveland during the 2010 playoffs, saying:
"I don't know about Cleveland, man, there is nothing going on. It's bad, man. You like it? You think it's cool? I’ve never heard of anybody going to Cleveland on vacation. What's so good about Cleveland?"
The two constantly went at it during Noah's Bulls career and LeBron James never really made it a priority to deal with him personally. The two-time All-Star also spoke about his rivalry with James on the "Knuckleheads Podcast":
"Every time we played, the Miami Heat, every time we played Cleveland, every team that LeBron was on, was always a war. Those are the games that you pencil it on the schedule. You put that circled."
#3 Charles Barkley
Charles Barkley has disrespected and dissed James on several occasions.
When James decided to leave Cleveland for Miami in 2010, Barkley called his nationally televised one-hour special "The Decision" a 'punk move.' Additionally, the 1993 MVP told NBA journalist Bill Simmons that James will never crack the top five of all-time list.
According to Barkley, Michael Jordan, Oscar Robertson, Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlain were all clear of the current LA Lakers superstar.
LeBron James often ignored these statements and laughed them off, suggesting they are "good for the ratings." However, in 2017, the matter became serious when James finally responded and attacked Barkley for his comments.
When James asked his then team, the Cavs, to improve their roster, Barkley called his complaints "whiny" and said:
"Inappropriate. Whiny. All of the above. The Cleveland Cavaliers, they have given him everything he wanted. They have the highest payroll in NBA history.
"He wanted JR Smith last summer, they paid him. He wanted 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 four-time MVP responded to ESPN's Dave McMenamin, saying he has never done anything inappropriate. James stated that he has never denied his position as a role model and has tried his best to represent the NBA in the 'right way.'
Also Checkout:- LeBron James Rings
... And the King, @KingJames, has spoken after more than a few comments from Charles Barkley. 🏀🏀🏀🏀🏀 https://t.co/0AnT0FAKAO
Charles Barkley responded to the comments on "Inside the NBA" on TNT, suggesting his statement wasn't unfair.
“We don't have to be friends... Anybody who thinks my comments were unfair, I don’t think they’re unfair.” https://t.co/ZMChNLK3Ka
Barkley still has a go at James every now and then as he is an analyst who breaks down the game and hasn't received a direct response in five years. The former even joked about James' receding hairline back when the latter was with the Heat, saying, "Bald is beautiful."
Also Checkout:- LeBron James Kids
#4 Enes Kanter Freedom
Enes Kanter Freedom's CV doesn't really compare to that of LeBron James.
The latter is a first-ballot Hall of Famer who will go down as arguably the greatest to ever lace up, while Freedom doesn't even have an All-Star selection. He is more famous for his off-court activism than his game and he doesn't believe James is one of the best of all time.
Back in 2018 when he played for the New York Knicks and James played for the Cavaliers, Freedom said:
"I don't care who you are. What do you call yourself? King, Queen, Princess. Whatever you are. We're going to fight. Nobody out there is going to punk us."
Things getting chippy between LeBron and the Knicks 👀 https://t.co/zAhQt6QSvz
LeBron James obviously didn't respond or care to comment.
Freedom has attacked James publicly on numerous occasions since. More recently, he went after the Lakers star for his Nike endorsement deal, stance on social justice reform and not advocating for vaccination.
Freedom has also worn sneakers attacking James and has often spoken about him on international news shows like CNN and Fox News.
Enes Kanter Freedom to LeBron James: 'You are an unappreciative billionaire and that’s unacceptable.' https://t.co/03lb62fw5W
He also said James is "free to leave" after the latter's comments about America while discussing the Brittney Griner situation on his show "The Shop."
Enes Kanter has picked out his sneakers for Friday’s game against LeBron and the Lakers. Wow! https://t.co/Y8GKqXXaf6
#5 Draymond Green
Draymond Green is probably the only player that James befriended after having a feud.
When Green swung his hand in James' direction during the 2016 NBA Finals, he was suspended for a game. The series shifted drastically after that game and the Cavaliers defeated the 73-9 Golden State Warriors after a monstrous 3-1 comeback.
Green reportedly called LeBron James a "b**ch" back then, but the two have mutual respect for each other's game and squashed their beef soon enough.
LeBron did not appreciate Draymond Green calling him a "bitch," and the Warriors don't care: deadsp.in/KYb4hCf https://t.co/KnEz36N7Yi
They are now business partners and friends. The 18-time All-Star was present at Green's wedding and the latter has been on James' show, "The Shop," multiple times. Both superstars are represented by Klutch Sports and are co-investors in several ventures such as Lobos Tequila as well.