Lebron James is globally acknowledged as one of the two greatest basketball players to ever play the game.
From his first stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers, to his move to the Miami Heat, his return to the land, and now with the Los Angeles Lakers, he has exemplified greatness on and of the court.
One of the four-time MVP's greatest attributes is the restraint he shows when dealing with rumors surrounding him and his family and media criticism.
It was an unexpected change of pace when James made an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show on Wednesday afternoon and responded to some of the craziest rumors and performances in his career.
The Lakers superstar covered topics from all across his 22 years in the NBA.
One of the discussions that took audiences completely aback was when he spoke about the Cavs teams from his first stint in the city.
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) © Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images © Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
Fans and media pundits have dissected the rosters of these early Cleveland teams, and most have come to the same consensus, that LeBron didn't have enough help.
An argument could be made for either side of the aisle, but to have the four-time NBA championship open up about the team construction is a complete shock.
While James stopped short of calling his teammates bad players, he claims that he "maximized their potential."
There probably aren't many people that would call these rosters great by any stretch, but the quote from the chosen one is revisionist history at its finest.
It's true, the Cavs legend was the only player that could be considered even close to a superstar, but the roster was loaded with great role players.
Anderson Varejao and Zydrunas Ilgauskas manned the paint, supplying Cleveland with top-notch rebounding and defense.
On the perimeter they had solid scorers like Drew Gooden and Larry Hughes, with LeBron in the center of it all carrying the scoring load.
This iteration of the Cavs certainly wasn't an All-Star team, but they weren't pushovers either.
If the team was around in today's NBA, they would probably be viewed similar to the Dallas Mavericks squads built around Luka Doncic during his time with the team.
These Mavs teams didn't have any other superstar until Kyrie Irving arrived a few seasons ago, but the organization viewed the Slovenian superstar as so transcendent that all he needed were 3-and-D role players.
It's not often that James gets on a microphone and airs out dirty laundry. So, it's surprising he used one of these rare appearances to bad-mouth his hometown team.
There doesn't appear to be bad blood between James and the organization, but the relationship certainly shows signs of being strained.
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This story was originally published March 30, 2025 at 8:23 AM.
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