"Took the easy road traveled"- LeBron James catches strays from 3x Pro Bowler on chasing rings with superteams
NBA superstar LeBron James was on the receiving end of a subtle dig from 3x Pro Bowler Maxx Crosby of the Las Vegas Raiders over loyalty and chasing titles by way of superteams.
The 26-year-old defensive end out of Eastern Michigan University spoke about his desire to stay as a Raider for the rest of his career on his appearance at "The Jim Rome Show" on Friday.
Crosby, who signed a four-year contract extension with the Vegas squad in March, said he was taking cues from legends like Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan, who stayed with the same team and built winners out of them.
While at it, he made reference to LeBron James and other athletes who went around to chase rings by forming superteams with other top athletes.
Crosby said:
"Yeah you know, for me, the guys who inspire me, the Kobes and the Jordans, the guys who stayed at the same place and won in the same place. No offense to the guys like LeBron and those dudes. I won't give them some heat, but they took the easy road traveled, and that's not the way I look at it."
Check out what he had to say below:
LeBron James, 39, has won four NBA titles with three teams in his 21 years in the NBA so far.
His first two came in 2012 and 2013 with the Miami Heat, where he joined forces with fellow NBA legends Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. Then in 2016, on the second year of his second tour of duty in Cleveland, he claimed his third ring, leading a team that also had All-Stars Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love.
In 2020, James won his fourth NBA title with the LA Lakers, in tandem with superstar Anthony Davis and a host of decorated players like Dwight Howard and Rajon Rondo.
Of late. 'The King' is seen trying to surround himself with top players to win another ring before he calls it a career.
LeBron James hoped for fifth title to come this season
LeBron James had winning a fifth NBA title as one of his motivations for this season. While he did his best to help the LA Lakers to go as deep as possible in the competition, they fell short in their quest.
Speaking to the "The Orange County Register" before the season started, 'The King' shared that winning another world title is a huge thing for him at this late stage of his career.
He said:
"It's just my motivation to continue to be as great as I can be and solidify what I want to do in my career and still seeing that Larry O'Brien trophy in my mind on a daily basis."
Adding:
"That's the best four moments of my career, being able to hoist up that trophy. [That's] motivation alone... But also wanting to be legendary in this game and let my game speak for itself long after I've played. But this team has motivated me as well."
LeBron James, however, did win a title this season, leading the Lakers to the first-ever NBA In-Season Tournament crown.