LeBron James has been in the public eye for most of his life, and rightfully so. He's one of the rare, super-hyped talents who has somehow exceeded all expectations, and he's undeniably on the shortest of short lists when it comes to the NBA's Greatest Of All Time.
With all that time in the limelight, though, comes intense scrutiny. No one's perfect, and James has dealt with plenty of valid criticisms over the years ("The Decision," anyone?). That just comes with the territory.
"I've never seen so many people be so happy to see an athlete fail more than LeBron," Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards wrote in an Instagram story in 2021. "His whole career he's been hated on constantly and slandered to no end to the point where when he retires nobody would have appreciated his greatness. I'm glad I will be one who did."
That said, some critiques James has faced haven't felt quite so constructive. Sometimes, talking heads in the media have either trafficked in or toed the line of engaging in straight-up trolling. Make no mistake about it—discourse about LeBron is its own cottage industry, and trolling him and/or consistently offering a negative viewpoint is its own subgenre within it.
Here, particularly in light of LeBron's ongoing beef with ESPN's Stephen A. Smith, we'll take a look at some of the most notable media members who have taken shots at James. By no means is this an exhaustive list, but we'll focus on some of the bigger names among talking heads as well as the more memorable moments from James' career.
And remember, if you come at "The King," you best not miss...
Bill Simmons1 of 5
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Sure, it's not really going out on a limb to suggest a lifelong Boston sports fan has taken plenty of shots at LeBron James. But as Bill Simmons built his media empire, he certainly has had some takes on James and his career that have ranged from silly to nuanced, awestruck admiration to hypercriticism and everything in between.
Simmons' commentary started more on the cringey side of things, though, during a liveblog of the 2003 NBA draft. Just two minutes after the start of the draft telecast, Simmons was already trying to be edgy by writing, "Hey, does anyone else think that LeBron is the next Danny Almonte scandal waiting to happen? There's no way he's 18 years old—he's at least 25."
After admitting how "giddy" he was about LeBron entering the league, Simmons then went on a trollish tangent following a comment from ESPN's Mike Tirico on the broadcast.
"Quote from Mike Tirico: 'There (LeBron) is with his Mom, Gloria. Gloria sacrificed a lot. Gave birth to LeBron when she was 16 … on their own at 19, living on assistance, food stamps, and now here they are … it's a great American story.'"
To which Simmons responded: "(What about parents who stayed together, worked hard, provided for their children and put them through school? Since when did not practicing birth control and lucking out because of DNA become a "sacrifice"? I'm confused. Let's just move on.)"
In his 2009 The Book of Basketball, Simmons dedicated plenty of space to James, who had already established himself as one of the top players in the league. But instead of wondering what heights James could reach, Simmons hypothesized a situation where he wouldn't reach them.
"Could we end up putting him in the 'Too Much, Too Soon' Pantheon some day, along with Eddie Murphy, Britney Spears, Michael Jackson and every other celeb who became famous too quickly and eventually burned out? ... We're much closer to LeBron reenacting the career arc of Martina Hingis, Eric Lindros and Junior Griffey than anyone realizes."
Three NBA championships and four NBA MVP awards following the publish date of that book, LeBron took his talents to Los Angeles to join the Lakers in 2018. A lighthearted Simmons, seemingly ambushed by TMZ at the airport, projected that the Lakers and Boston Celtics would meet in the NBA Finals in two years, and that the Lakers would win "zero" championships with LeBron on the roster.
Los Angeles indeed made the Finals two years later, but the Celtics weren't there. The Lakers, led by James as the Finals MVP, took home the title.
Adrian Wojnarowski2 of 5
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Adrian Wojnarowski may very well be the GOAT when it comes to breaking news in the NBA. The league hinged on his every report during his tenure covering the league, with Woj Bombs sending shockwaves around the world via NBA Twitter.
Some may even be surprised to see his name here, as during ESPN's coverage of the 2024 NBA draft he pushed back against the nepotism discourse that surrounded Bronny James.
"People talking about nepotism," he said. "The NBA is full of nepotism. The ownership level, front offices, coaching. I don't want to hear about it all of a sudden because Bronny James' father plays for the Lakers. It is rampant in this league."
Early in LeBron's career, though, Wojnarowski wasn't always as understanding or forgiving, particularly during Wojnarowski's time writing for Yahoo before he was a household name. Take, for instance, this excerpt from a June 2009 column in which he eviscerated James for not staying on the court to shake hands with the Orlando Magic after they eliminated his Cleveland Cavaliers from the playoffs:
"Here's the question: Who has the guts to tell him that he sounds like an immature, self-absorbed brat? ... Within the Cavs, someone needed to tell James that he embarrassed himself and the franchise, but that won't happen. They're too scared of him."
A year later, James and the Cavs again exited the playoffs shy of making the NBA Finals. Everyone knew that James was on track to be a free agent that summer for the first time in his career.
Wojnarowski didn't appear to be pleased about James planning to work with his personal team of advisors to plan for that league-altering decision.
"Yes, his team. That's where James' loyalties lie, where together they'll chase the one title he's forever chased: the biggest free agent of his generation. Together, they're going to hold the NBA hostage. ...
"Together, these narcissists will manufacture a drama that will undermine the conference and NBA Finals, the NBA draft and Fourth of July parades in small towns and big cities across America. James and the Cavs lost Game 6 of the conference semifinals to the Boston Celtics, 94-85, but he hardly seemed devastated in the losing locker room. James had a triple-double that was devalued with nine turnovers. He shot 44 percent for the series, turned the ball over 27 times and behaved like a lousy leader."
Less than a week before James announced his decision to go to the Miami Heat, Wojnarowski reported the Chicago Bulls were the team to beat and the Heat weren't in the top three. When it came to possibly teaming up with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami, he reported, "No one believes it fits James' DNA, nor his agenda."
Again, there's no denying where Wojnarowski ended up in his career as a news-breaker. But during his time at Yahoo in particular, there was no shortage of barbs directed explicitly at LeBron.
Laura Ingraham3 of 5
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Everyone else on this list is a media member who predominantly focuses on the NBA. Laura Ingraham is the exception.
In 2018, Ingraham waded into the waters of NBA commentary, drawn in by comments made by James (and to a lesser extent Kevin Durant) during a 17-minute conversation with ESPN's Cari Champion as part of a Facebook series titled "Rolling with the Champion."
In a discussion that touched on multiple topics, Ingraham took offense to what James expressed when talking about his perspective on the political climate at the time, particularly as a Black person in America.
"The No. 1 job in America, the appointed person is someone who doesn't understand the people and really don't give a f--k about the people," James said.
When asked by Champion about racist comments made by president Donald Trump, Durant said it felt like the country—if it were a team—was not run by a good coach. James added that, "it's not even a surprise when he says something (racist)," noting that those situations are both "laughable and scary."
Ingraham, parsing these comments on her Fox News talk show The Ingraham Angle, called James' commentary in particular "barely intelligible" and "ungrammatical."
What really struck chord was her final line, in which she told James and Durant to "Shut up and dribble."
"Must they run their mouths like that? Unfortunately, a lot of kids and some adults take these ignorant comments seriously. ... This is what happens when you attempt to leave high school a year early to join the NBA, and it's always unwise to seek political advice from someone who gets paid $100 million a year to bounce a ball.
"Oh, and LeBron and Kevin, you're great players, but no one voted for you. Millions elected Trump to be their coach, so keep the political commentary to yourself. Or, as someone once said, shut up and dribble."
James heard the TV personality's suggestion and roundly rejected it.
"I mean too much to society [to 'shut up and dribble']," James told reporters during All-Star weekend in 2018. "I mean too much to the youth, I mean too much to so many kids that feel like they don't have a way out and they need someone to help lead them out of the situation they're in."
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Stephen A. Smith4 of 5
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It often feels like you can't tune into ESPN without seeing or hearing Stephen A. Smith. He's on TV, he's on radio, he's online. You're apt to find him in the mornings, afternoons and evenings. He'll unabashedly discuss any sport, anytime, anywhere.
With that level of ubiquity and fame, he's naturally offered plenty of words on LeBron James. And while he may save his best rants for the New York Knicks, he's also had some memorable altercations involving James.
During the summer of 2018, ESPN reported that Kyrie Irving had requested a trade away from the Cleveland Cavaliers. One day after that report, Smith reported that Irving's camp believed James—who the prior day had been reportedly blindsided by the news—and his camp had helped orchestrate the publication of Irving's request.
Then, on his radio show, Smith reported "that sources in James' camp told him James would be tempted to 'beat [Kyrie's] ass,' regarding Irving's trade request" and the implication that James' camp was behind it coming to light.
James offered his rebuttal in the form of a tweet.
That situation is small potatoes compared to what's transpired over the past few weeks.
After a game in Los Angeles on March 6, James approached Smith courtside for a heated conversation that quickly went viral. In it, Smith says James said, "Stop f--king with my son," taking umbrage with things Smith had said in the past about his son and Lakers teammate Bronny James, saying things had gotten "personal."
Smith continued to keep the situation in the news cycle on Wednesday with comments about swinging on LeBron.
"I would have gotten my ass kicked because if that man put his hands on me, I would've immediately swung on him. Immediately. That I'm not going to tolerate."
James opted to take those comments and run with them. On Thursday, he trolled Smith with an Instagram post featuring video of Smith boxing with the caption, "Whomp, whomp, whompppppppp," along with several crying laughing face emojis.
There's no telling where this beef will go next, so stay tuned.
Skip Bayless5 of 5
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"No one's more critical of LeBron James than Skip Bayless," Stephen A. Smith said in 2022 on the I Am Athlete podcast when talking about his former First Take partner. "What I will tell you is, he ain't playing. He means it."
Do you need to hear any more? Are you not entertained? Is there any better coronation for the king of LeBron haters than that?
Bayless, during his time at Fox Sports and ESPN and now as a podcaster, has to no small extent built his talking-head career on trolling James at every turn. He's questioned everything about James over the years, including his performances, leadership, tenacity, whether or not he's been injured at different junctures, his mental toughness and much more. A few years ago, he shared his opinion on the NBA's 75th anniversary team, personally ranking James as the ninth greatest player of all time.
The beauty of Bayless' trolling is that he never loses steam. He always has a spin no matter what is going on with James or his team. There are multiple YouTube compilations of Bayless ranting about James' shortcomings.
Even after James' four NBA championships, Bayless always found a way to get his digs in. When James helped lead Team USA to the 2024 gold medal at the Paris Olympics—winning MVP in the process—Bayless was there to throw all the shade.
From LeBron's early days—especially during his struggles in the 2011 Finals—all the way through the present day, Bayless has consistently brought the same trollish energy. Neither he nor James has let up in continuing to refine their craft...which might be one of the few things they have in common. As much as Bayless harps on James, it's essentially been a one-sided relationship as James hasn't usually engaged with Bayless' attacks.
Earlier this month, Bayless took aim at James' jump shot, something that James' former teammate and current ESPN broadcaster Richard Jefferson said James has been working hard to improve.
"This is not a nitpick, this is a boulder pick," Bayless said on The Skip Bayless Show. "This is an extremely fair and valid biggest picture question about the NBA's greatest scorer ever. Why didn't he work to improve his shooting after his rookie year? After his second year? After his third year? He finally improved his pathetic shooting in year 21 and 22. Think about that.
"What was he doing his first 20 offseasons? I mean, he wasted 20 years! He did, seriously!"
As long as James keeps going, you've got to believe that Bayless will keep trolling. This week's buzzer-beater at Indiana? Bayless was all over it.
"LeBon just made a walk-off, buzzer-beating shot and it was simply the luckiest buzzer-beater in the history of the world! ... Nobody has ever had a luckier, easier, walk-off buzzer-beater than LeBron just had at Indiana."
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