"Ever since then, he's been on my hit list" - When former Timberwolves guard revealed origins of his animosity toward LeBron James
Former Minnesota Timberwolves guard Rashad McCants revealed he hasn't liked LeBron James since 2001, even before either entered the NBA, due to a high school basketball ranking list released that year.
On the Sept. 1 episode of "Gil's Arena" with Gilbert Arenas, McCants explained that his dislike for James began with Parade’s 2001 All-America Boys Basketball Team, where James was named to the second team.
“In 2001. The Parade All-American magazine, that s**t popped up out of nowhere in the magazine. I’m like who the f**k is this n***a?” McCants said
At the time, McCants, a star at New Hampton School, was placed on the third team, just below LeBron James.
“It's supposed to be me and all these n****s, and this n***a popped up and they put him above me. And I was like, ‘I need to know who this n***a is,’ and ever since then he's been on my hit list,” McCants said.
In 2002, both McCants and James made the first team, but the spotlight was on James, with the magazine comparing his high school dominance to legends like Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
James made the first team again in 2003, the same year he was drafted first overall by the Cleveland Cavaliers.
McCants was picked 14th overall in 2005 and played four seasons in the NBA. He has since become a regular on "Gil's Arena," where he frequently criticizes James, particularly his career moves with the Lakers.
Rashad McCants claims LeBron James wanted to overshadow Michael Jordan as early as 2005
According to Rashad McCants, LeBron James was aiming to surpass Michael Jordan as early as 2005.
In an earlier episode of "Gil's Arena," McCants recounted a story of a young James wanting to outshine Jordan's iconic #23 with his own. He said this happened after the 2005 season.
"A bunch of motherf***ers were at the table, and Bron just happened to say some s**t randomly: ‘I'm trying to make that other number 23 disappear,’” McCants recounted.
McCants said the person who told the story looked around and responded, "Good luck, young fella."
LeBron James has worn #23 in 15 of his 21 NBA seasons and will continue with the number in the 2024-25 season. He briefly switched to #6 twice, first with the Miami Heat and later with the Lakers, but returned to #23 after the league retired #6 in honor of Bill Russell.