LeBron James has been on the receiving end of criticism for nearly 22 years and has shown no signs of retaliation until last week. His response to Anthony Edwards not wanting to be the face of the league has only intensified all the criticism towards him. After claiming that the NBA media wasn’t doing its best to nurture the game properly, James has been the target of mockery on several TV shows.
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A James fan account on Instagram made a bold claim last night, implying that the media simply mentioned LeBron’s name to garner more views, essentially using the 21-time All-Star as clickbait.
The fan’s original post detailed a plethora of scenarios that he believed the media and haters use against James to criticize him, and he even captioned the post with an example. “LeBron could walk on water, and they would said it’s because he couldn’t swim,” he wrote.
Jamie Foxx seemingly agreed with this take, as he left a bunch of comments on the post, voicing his support for what the fan account was trying to get across. Foxx’s three comments on the post made it amply clear that he, too, was tired of how the media shifts the goalposts constantly when it comes to James.
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“40,000 points over 20 years of play carrying this bum a** league on his shoulders, ungrateful,” wrote Foxx in one of his three comments. The actor was mad about how, despite all that LBJ has done for the league and the sport for over 20 years, people are still ungrateful.
He also provided a hilarious hypothetical, saying, “If he came up with a cure for cancer they would say yeah but what about diabetes?”
Foxx took a dig at the media, reminding them how they need LeBron’s name to get views. “You have to mention LeBron James name in order to get clicks.”
Jamie Foxx got it right! Fans hating on LeBron James to get clicks! pic.twitter.com/SMqP0Bc1IB
— Top NBA Fan (@TopNBAFanToday) March 2, 2025
Foxx’s point certainly rings true. Even today, with James playing at such a high level, he’s terribly underappreciated by the media. To have a 40-year-old player averaging nearly 25-9-7 in his 22nd year is unheard of, but the media glosses over his achievements every time.
LeBron James has hit a new level since turning 40
After turning 40 on the 30th of December, James has seen an unprecedented upturn in his form. He’s averaged 26.2 PPG, 7.8 RPG, and 8.4 APG since the turn of the year, and the Lakers are currently the 3rd seed in the West.
A recent post online started to go viral after someone compared his stats this season to his MVP season in 2012. James was arguably at the peak of his powers in his 4 year stretch in Miami, and his numbers right now are still marginally better.
He’s also climbed into the 5th position in the NBA’s MVP ladder for the year, and though he’s not expected to win the award, the very fact that he’s a top 5 candidate just emphasises how good he has been this year.
We’re seeing James do things that we’ve never seen a person at his age do, and yet we hear the media call him out, instead of appreciating the longevity and greatness. That’s one narrative that needs to be fixed stat.
