Being the best means having to deal with your share of haters, and few know that better than LeBron James. It is almost as if, no matter what decision he has made in his career, he has had to deal with flak from journalists, experts, and, of course, fans. But why is James so hated by a portion of the basketball community? Lester Conner knows why.
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James first started facing the heat when he left the Cleveland Cavaliers for Miami in 2010. They called him everything under the sun. Social media only made it worse. Every missed shot, every playoff loss, and every comment he made was dissected and turned into a meme.
Conner, a retired coach, spoke about the 40-year-old phenomenon during a recent appearance on the NBA History & Storytellers program. He recalled developing a relationship with James and his mother, Gloria, during the early stages of the future Hall of Famer’s career. “I knew him in his earlier career when I was coaching with Boston. He came and played in our Summer League for the first time,” he began.
The 65-year-old then revealed that it’s the “King” nickname that draws hate for James. “I think some people don’t like him because of the fact that he named himself The King,” he added.
“We talk about that all the time. Who gonna name themself The King? And then say that they’re the GOAT and the Greatest of All Time when someone else should give you those accolades. I think that’s one of them,” Conner stated.
“The way he does teams that he goes to by handpicking certain guys that he wants and being the player, the general manager, and the coach. I think that rubs some people the wrong way.”
This second answer is understandable. James has shown the power that players can have, but to a degree that can seem rather irritating. He may be a superstar, and yes, a superstar should have some pull, but the league should not be dictated by a single player. That kind of power is far too great for anyone and can lead to situations like The Big Three or Kevin Durant joining the Warriors.
That said, disliking someone just because of a nickname does seem a little silly. The King nickname? Conner was not entirely accurate. James has carried that moniker since high school, when it was given to him by a writer in Ohio. Sure, he accepted the title, but that is not his fault. He never crowned himself The King.
When “King James” was turned down
James has at times been guilty of using his “King” nickname rather sleazily, and a story narrated by Brendan Haywood proves just that. The former NBA champ, in an interview with Cavaliers Nation, revealed how James once tried to recruit him to Cleveland but made a grave mistake in doing so: he introduced himself as “King James.”
“I get a text from a number that I don’t know. It’s LeBron. He says, ‘What’s up, this is King James.’ It was a little weird that he called himself King James, but I kept going,” recalled Haywood.
“He told me he was trying to get guys to come to the Cavs. He said he knew that they could not give me what I was going to get in the market. But he wanted to know if I would be willing to take a pay cut to be a part of something special.”
“I wouldn’t have taken a pay cut to play with the ’92 [Chicago] Bulls. Buddy, you’re making $100 million off the court! This is my last hurrah! I hadn’t made enough money in my career to take a pay cut and chase a championship.”
Good on Haywood for knowing his worth. James probably could have swayed 90 percent of the league with that sentence, but Haywood, who not only had a ring but earned it by beating James with Dallas in 2011, was not about to hear it.
Moments like that have painted James in a bad light. He is obviously much more than one incident, but the hate train feeds on stories like this. Regardless of how you feel about him, James is easily the most polarizing figure in the league since Michael Jordan. You may not rank him higher than His Airness, but you certainly have to respect the fact that he knows how to generate noise.
