LeBron James has often been called out for his lack of a so-called “killer mentality,” something that the likes of Kobe Bryant or Michael Jordan had in abundance. Critics love to say that LeBron is too unselfish or too focused on making the right play. But the King has shown, time and again, that he does his talking on the court, and what often sparks that side of him is his own teammates.
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When someone else on the floor starts stepping up or pushes LeBron with a look or a word, you can see that switch flip in his eyes. Suddenly, he’s attacking relentlessly, locking in defensively, and controlling every possession like it’s personal.
Iman Shumpert shared a story about this very thing happening to James during his second stint with the Cavaliers, in a recent edition of his No Limit poker game on YouTube. The 35-year-old talked about how the future Hall of Famer sometimes needed a bit of tough love from his teammates.
“They came at Bron at halftime and gave him some sh** basically saying they needed something or whatever. And Bron like, ‘What you mean? I’m doing everything.’ He said, ‘I need more.’ He looked at him and like, ‘What you want me to do?’ ‘You’re LeBron. I want more!'”
The thought of LeGOAT’s teammates giving him a hard time is kind of funny, especially considering the whole “killer mentality” narrative. But Shumpert revealed seconds later that James didn’t argue with his teammates. He just started dominating.
“Bron sat with it for a second, and then went and started dogging sh**. That next week was unbelievable,” stated Iman with a big smile on his face. It’s almost as if he remembered the massacre that LeBron laid upon his NBA opponents.
This isn’t the first time something like this has happened. Mario Chalmers once famously told LeBron off to his face during their days together on the Heat. The two-time champion shared the story in an old interview on The OGs. He recalled James complaining about everything during a game that Miami was losing.
“You the best player out here. Stop being a b***h and go play,” stated Chalmers, which made host Mike Miller laugh. Apparently that worked though. James started going off, and took what Mario said personally. Miller remembered that b**** was James’ trigger word.
“I paid for it because I got benched but I did what I was supposed to do,” added Chalmers, who was proud that he managed to rile up the best player ever and get him to play aggressively.
Funny enough, the whole “killer instinct” debate kind of falls apart when you hear these stories. All it takes is a little push from a teammate and LeBron flips the switch, completely taking over. That’s why, even this deep into his career, he’s still the guy everyone else gets measured against.
