LeBron James is not one to put his differences to the side just to make nice with people. Cross the King, and he's not going to forget it.
This alpha-tendency from LeBron, however, is not without its downfalls. His candid personality has gotten him into more than a couple of feuds during his time in the NBA—although some were not entirely by his own doing. While he might maintain a relatively pristine image with people who recognize him from commercials and highlights, real NBA fans know he’s had plenty of beef with players, coaches, corporations, and commentators—even President Trump—over the years, proving there is nobody safe from the wrath of King James.
Here are the 11 individuals James has had beef with over his NBA career—as of right now.
LeBron James is not one to put his differences to the side just to make nice with people. Cross the King, and he's not going to forget it.
This alpha-tendency from LeBron, however, is not without its downfalls. His candid personality has gotten him into more than a couple of feuds during his time in the NBA—although some were not entirely by his own doing. While he might maintain a relatively pristine image with people who recognize him from commercials and highlights, real NBA fans know he’s had plenty of beef with players, coaches, corporations, and commentators—even President Trump—over the years, proving there is nobody safe from the wrath of King James.
Here are the 11 individuals James has had beef with over his NBA career—as of right now.
Skip Bayless
LeBron really hasn't said much about or to Skip Bayless during his NBA career (though he's well aware of Skip's brand) but the FS1 host is the poster boy for LeBron haters everywhere. And just about every time he’s made an anti-LeBron argument, “Prince James” has proved him wrong. He said in 2010 that LeBron was the most “overrated, overhyped superstar” in postseason play in his lifetime.
James now has three rings.
And just before LeBron took his talents back to Cleveland, Bayless tweeted perhaps the most idiotic display of 140 characters ever put together:
Johnny Football will one day be bigger in Cleveland than his buddy LeBron ever was.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) May 9, 2014
And when LeBron finally did bring Cleveland a ring by coming back from a 3-1 deficit against the greatest regular-season team in NBA history, you’d figure even Bayless would give him some credit, right? Especially since he led all players on both teams in all five major categories, right?
Wrong. He thought the MVP should have gone to Kyrie Irving.
How can Kyrie Irving not be Finals MVP after his last four games?
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) June 20, 2016
And then he went on a whole “MJ is still better” rant…
MJ never melted down in playoff series vs Celts or Finals vs Mavs. MJ never came apart down Game 6 stretch & had to be saved by Ray Allen.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) June 20, 2016
He tweeted about seven different variations of this tweet after Game 7. Guess you have to be a quarterback with a sub-50 career completion percentage to garner praise from Skip.
DeShawn Stevenson and Soulja Boy
Yes. You read that correctly.
Stevenson was a lockdown defender during the 13 seasons he spent in the NBA, and was a key part of the Mavericks’ 2011 championship team, where Dallas took down LeBron.
But Stevenson is perhaps best remembered for the short-lived feud he started with James. When Stevenson’s Wizards were facing LeBron’s Cavs in 2008, the journeyman called James “overrated.” To which LeBron responded: “It's almost like Jay Z saying something bad about Soulja Boy.”
Soulja Boy hit back by showing up to D.C. for the following game—in a Stevenson Wizards jersey. This was back when the Crank That dance was still a thing, so it was kind of a big deal.
Joakim Noah
Noah has had perhaps the most lengthy feud with LeBron James of any active player. This one goes way back to 2009, when Noah took exception to James dancing while the Cavs were up 19 against the Bulls.
Later that season, Noah made his infamous comments about how much he hates Cleveland. Among many other disparaging things, he said, “I’ve never heard anyone say that they’re going on vacation to Cleveland.”
The two had some chippy moments in the playoffs over the years, including one in 2013 that gave Noah and James technicals:
When the Bulls faced Cleveland in 2015, LeBron accused Noah of “disrespectful” trash talk that crossed the line. Noah continued to let his disdain show for LeBron after he signed with the Knicks, saying in September that knocking off the Cavs would be the Knicks’ goal this year. Needless to say, this is an unlikely scenario.
LeBron has eliminated Noah’s Bulls teams from the playoffs four times: in 2010, 2011, 2013, and 2015. Noah has never eliminated LeBron, and probably won’t even get a chance to this year.
Dan Gilbert
Things have kinda sorta been patched up between Gilbert, the Cavs owner, and James since LeBron came back to Cleveland. But they’ll probably never be on superb terms thanks to the way both handled LeBron’s exit from the Cavs in 2010.
LeBron informed the Cavs that he would be leaving Cleveland just minutes before “The Decision” aired on ESPN. After the announcement was made, Cleveland burst into a frenzy. LeBron jerseys in flames were the memorable images of the night.
Gilbert responded with a letter to fans that was equally heated (no pun intended on the Heat thing). He unloaded on LeBron, declaring "I PERSONALLY GUARANTEE THAT THE CLEVELAND CAVALIERS WILL WIN AN NBA CHAMPIONSHIP BEFORE THE SELF-TITLED FORMER 'KING' WINS ONE."
I didn’t add in the all caps, by the way. That was actually how Gilbert wrote it. In Comic Sans font, no less. Using all caps is never a good decision—especially when you’re as prominent of a figure as Gilbert—and Comic Sans definitely isn’t the most professional of the fonts Microsoft Word has to offer.
Gilbert also adjusted the price of LeBron James Fatheads on the Cavs’ website to $17.41—Benedict Arnold’s birth year. And yes, that was intentional. It seems like such a distant memory now, but LeBron James was the most hated figure in Cleveland sports at this time.
Although LeBron did come back to Gilbert’s Cavs in 2014, the two still are apparently not on the best of terms. There have been reports recently that he and LeBron disagree about the team’s level of payroll spending, which is kind of ridiculous considering the Cavs have the league’s highest payroll by $12 million.
Under Armour
As a Nike man since Day One, LeBron has nothing nice to say about Under Armour. In fact, he had nothing to say at all about the company when asked about a commercial they did in 2015—he wouldn’t even use its name.
LeBron claimed in this interview (obviously jokingly) that he had never heard of Under Armour, and referred to them only as “The other guy.”
“The other guy” has since fallen on tough times; their stock price has dropped more than 75 percent over the last year thanks in large part to the plummeting sales of Stephen Curry’s shoes. LeBron’s Nike, on the other hand? They’re doing just fine. Maybe that will be the subject of some trash talk in a potential Cavs-Warriors rematch.
Dave Blatt
It’s not totally clear how responsible James was for former Cavs coach Dave Blatt’s firing last year—if at all—despite his 30-11 record that season. But what is clear is that LeBron has more say on personnel matters than any other pro athlete—and there were several reports that LeBron was not happy with Blatt. LeBron famously vetoed a last-second inbounds play in the 2015 playoffs, which ended in a LeBron buzzer-beater. It’s hard to imagine a coach getting his play vetoed, being proven wrong, and feeling good about his role on the team.
Blatt has the seventh-highest winning percentage in league history; higher than legends K.C. Jones, Red Auerbach, and Pat Riley. But thanks perhaps to his contentious relationship with The King, he's now coaching overseas.
Draymond Green
Green has become the most hated player on The Association’s most star-studded team thanks to his emotional—and sometimes dirty—brand of basketball. LeBron has borne the brunt of several Green hits over the last year or so.
It all started with a scuffle in last season’s NBA Finals. In hindsight, this could be the most important scuffle in NBA history; James and Green got tangled up on one play, causing Green to fall to the ground. Green then responded by attempting to deliver a tap beneath the belt. He was suspended for this act, which probably cost the Warriors Game 5 as a result.
This January, Green took down LeBron James in a Golden State blowout, and then mocked him for flopping. This will definitely be the focal point of any potential Warriors-Cavs Finals rematch.
Phil Jackson
The legendary coach and lackluster Knicks president irked LeBron when he used the term “posse” to describe James’ associates in 2016.
"It had to hurt when they lost LeBron," Jackson said regarding the Heat, according to ESPN.com. "That was definitely a slap in the face. But there were a lot of little things that came out of that. When LeBron was playing with the Heat, they went to Cleveland, and he wanted to spend the night. They don't do overnights. Teams just don't. So now [coach Erik] Spoelstra has to text [Pat] Riley and say, 'What do I do in this situation?' And Pat, who has iron-fist rules, answers: 'You are on the plane. You are with this team.' You can't hold up the whole team because you and your mom and your posse want to spend an extra night in Cleveland.
"I always thought Pat had this really nice vibe with his guys. But something happened there where it broke down. I do know LeBron likes special treatment. He needs things his way."
LeBron responded by saying he lost all of his respect for Jackson, and took exception to the word’s racial undertones. Jackson expressed regret for using that word, but it’s unlikely LeBron will be inking a contract with the Knicks anytime soon—that comment notwithstanding.
Donald Trump
Unlike Michael Jordan, to whom LeBron is oft-compared, James has not shied away from politics. He campaigned with Barack Obama in 2008 and Hillary Clinton this past election.
James has also been an outspoken critic of Donald Trump since he was elected in November. He spoke out against his controversial travel ban, has refused to stay in Trump hotels, and has even subtly protested Trump on his Sports Illustrated “Sportsperson of the Year” cover, wearing a safety pin—something that has become a symbol of resistance in many liberal circles.
Prior to LeBron's criticism, Trump had some kind words to say about LeBron when he was with the Heat:
As one of Miamii's largest landowners, I am pulling for the @MiamiHEAT in the @NBA finals. Lebron's time is now! @KingJames
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 12, 2012
Congratulations to @KingJames on winning Athlete of the Year in last night’s @ESPYS. LeBron is also a great guy!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 18, 2013
Great shot by @KingJames yesterday. Lebron is a tough competitor who delivers under pressure.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 11, 2015
Now that LeBron has said negative things about The Donald, it’s likely that his pro-LeBron sentiments will change. One can only imagine the 5 a.m. Twitter rant when LBJ declines to visit the White House after his next championship.
Charles Barkley
The most notorious and heated of them all, the LeBron-Chuck beef blew up in January after bubbling under the surface for years. Barkley had long been critical of James, but LeBron never really responded in any consequential way. Barkley called James’ decision to go to Miami “a punk move,” and said over the summer that James wasn’t even in his top seven all-time greats. He even went as far as to say that Tim Duncan and Kobe Bryant were higher up on that list than LeBron.
But things exploded in January after Barkley commented on LeBron’s unhappiness with the Cavs front office. “Inappropriate. Whiny. All of the above,” Barkley said on TNT in January, as quoted in SB Nation. “The Cleveland Cavaliers, they have given him everything he wanted. They have the highest payroll in NBA history. He wanted J.R. Smith last summer, they paid him...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."
LeBron got very personal after Barkley said this and took shots at the Hall of Famer’s gambling problem and other past issues. "I'm not going to let him disrespect my legacy like that," James said. "I'm not the one who threw somebody through a window. I never spit on a kid. I never had unpaid debt in Las Vegas. I never said, 'I'm not a role model.' I never showed up to All-Star Weekend on Sunday because I was in Vegas all weekend partying. All I've done for my entire career is represent the NBA the right way. Fourteen years, never got in trouble. Respected the game. Print that."
Knowing how LeBron rolls, it won't take much to add another name to this list if they dare speak evil about the legend.