Despite being one of the best players ever and a largely unproblematic public figure, LeBron James has his fair share of detractors. Among those is WWE superstar Randy Orton, who seemingly despises the four-time NBA champion.
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During an appearance on fellow WWE superstar Cody Rhodes’ What Do You Wanna Talk About? show, the 14-time World Champion made a rather crude remark about the Lakers superstar. While prefacing a question about Orton’s opinion on professional wrestling’s GOAT, Rhodes said,
“A conversation is going around about the GOAT. Greatest of all-time… Just like in all sports, they talk about LeBron, Michael [Jordan], all the different things.”
Before he could finish the question, the veteran said, “F**k LeBron.” Orton did not provide any context for his statement and Rhodes did not probe him either about his hatred for the four-time NBA champion.
“F*ck LeBron”
– Randy Orton 😳
(via ‘What Do You Wanna Talk About’ / h/t @WrestleOps )
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) August 15, 2024
He instead asked the 44-year-old wrestler about his take on the GOAT debate and whether he felt he deserved to be in that conversation. Orton had a pretty compelling take on the subject. He claimed that he doesn’t believe any sport can have one athlete as the greatest. He said,
“I don’t think that there is a GOAT. I like the Mt. Rushmore… I like, ‘Who’s your top five, top 10, even top 20.'”
He added that no athlete can be solely responsible for the growth and popularity of a sport. Hence, he preferred admiring a slew of superstars for their accomplishments and impact. Orton did say that fans are entitled to have their favorites and make a case for them to be the greatest ever.
As for his standing in the GOAT debate, he downplayed it despite being among the most accomplished superstars in WWE’s illustrious history. As insightful as his answer was, fans are more curious about the comment that preceded it.
It’s unclear why Orton dislikes James and has enough contempt for the Lakers superstar to take an unprovoked jibe at him. From his testimony about GOAT debates, it’d be easy to assume that he respects the four-time NBA MVP’s achievements as a player and his impact on helping basketball grow.
However, the 14-time World Champion harbors resentment towards James and fans are left wondering why.
