Charles Barkley recently made headlines for suggesting that LeBron James created the second apron. The Hall of Famer said that because he made a superteam and joined the Miami Heat in 2010, teams around the league copied the idea, leading to expensive rosters loaded with stars. And while he may not be wrong, Richard Jefferson was quick to point out that Chuck could be accused of the same thing during his career.
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The second apron, for the uninitiated, is the final fixture in terms of spending limit an NBA team can go past before facing dire consequences. The second apron is set at $207.8 million for 2025-26.
Jefferson was a teammate of LeBron’s for 3 seasons on the Cleveland Cavaliers. Together, they were a part of the greatest playoff comeback in NBA history, winning the finals in 2016 by coming back down 3-1 over the Golden State Warriors. So, they know a thing or two about going up against a superteam.
That’s why Jefferson spared no expense when defending LeBron over what Barkley said.
“Oh, wait, my turn,” Jefferson said on Road Trippin’. “F*** him!”
The statement made his co-hosts laugh and sit up in their chairs. Jefferson then repeated the phrase and explained why it irked him so much.
“I remember Charles Barkley going to Houston, and he teamed up with Hakeem Olajuwon. And then Scottie Pippen was also there… That sounds like teaming up,” he added.
It is, in fact, true that in 1996, Barkley joined Olajuwon and the Rockets. Soon after, Pippen also joined the squad in what was one of the first attempts at a superteam. But they failed to ever win a title, reaching as far as the Western Conference Finals in ‘97.
Jefferson also pointed out that Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant did something similar soon after.
“Let’s go to Shaq and Kobe. Does everybody remember when they recruited Gary Payton? Who was still in his prime. And then they recruited Karl Malone,” Jefferson recalled.
It was another great point to bring up, and nailed home why the comments from Barkley upset the former teammate of LeBron. Jefferson felt as though the Hall of Famer was being hypocritical. And he wasn’t afraid to stand up for Bron.
Kendrick Perkins even joined in on the cause, pointing out that the Boston Celtics created a super team in 2007.
“Before ‘Bron made his move, KG, Paul [Pierce], and Ray [Allen] joined up,” Perkins pointed out.
It all brought Jefferson to one simple conclusion.
“So, no. The second apron doesn’t exist because LeBron and guys wanted to stop competing. Why did Charles go to Houston? Or maybe he’s telling us he didn’t want to compete. Come on, Charles.”
All in all, it was a great argument for Jefferson to make. But at the end of the day, we all know that LeBron’s move to Miami was way more impactful than most of the other examples. It’s LeBron James for crying out loud.
However, suggesting that LeBron’s move to Miami triggered a rule that was implemented 15 years later is a bit absurd. Even if he did have an effect, other teams joined in on it and exacerbated the super team era. So, good on Jefferson for standing up for his former teammate.
