Colin Cowherd Defends LeBron James Against ‘Haters’: “24 Years In a Row, Think About That”

LeBron James has been the most covered athlete in any sport over more than two decades, and continues to be so.

Colin Cowherd Defends LeBron James Against ‘Haters’: “24 Years In a Row, Think About That”

LeBron James and Colin Cowherd (Image via FirstSportz)

It is genuinely surprising that despite the presence of several younger superstars, the media continues to talk about the oldest player in the league, LeBron James, every minute they are on the air.

The situation is such that not a day goes by without any reference to the four-time champion, even if there is nothing of substance to discuss. The NBA in general does not get this much coverage, and neither does the NFL or MLB over an entire year.

All of this is due to how fans look at the Akron native. Having spent 23 years in the league and playing at an elite level in every single one of them, they have grown to appreciate what James means to the game.

Moreover, he has the perfect family situation, has become successful in business, and has a global impact that shames many other great athletes of this generation. However, with that level of attention, criticism is always a part of those discussions.

Michael Jordan played for 9 years and said, ‘I need a break, it’s too much.’… LeBron’s like, ‘Year 24, bring it on.’ Think about that… 24 years with all these platforms, more access, more coverage… It’s been global day 1 with LeBron. More hate, more vitriol.

Colin Cowherd said on The Herd

The longtime journalist pointed out how Michael Jordan helped the NBA become a global machine. But that meant he only got the coverage once it became that.

On the other hand, LeBron James has been facing widespread coverage from across the globe since he came in. Most of it was ‘hate,’ but that did not push him to quit, unlike His Airness.

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Criticizing LeBron James draws clicks, claims his agent

While Colin Cowherd detailed how long LeBron James has been facing the criticism and still continues to willingly take it on every day, the superstar’s agent believes that is because it pays to criticize his client.

LeBron James and Tyrese Maxey are working out together
LeBron James and Tyrese Maxey are working out together (Image via Legion Hoops/X)

I think somewhere in the algorithm somebody said, ‘Hey, if you speak negatively about LeBron, people want to pay attention to you.’ I think that somewhere is in the manual of social media.

Rich Paul said on the Game Over podcast

The Klutch Sports CEO believes that social media companies have it somewhere in their suggestions list to content creators that they should criticize his close friend to gain traction.

While that might not be explicitly mentioned anywhere in any manual, there have been enough instances, even on mainstream media, that have proved that criticizing LeBron James draws traction, which then leads to better revenue.

There are times when the opinion or analogy is evidently bad enough that everyone knows the said media house or podcast is intentionally trying to milk James’ name. However, there is no let-up, as this technique has proven to be vastly successful.

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Jalen Rose mocks Colin Cowherd for glazing LeBron James

To counter this, former Detroit Pistons and Indiana Pacers star Jalen Rose claimed that either the current media does not have capable analysts on their shows, or are mostly made up of former players who were teammates with LeBron James. That, to him, has allowed the narratives to change.

Colin is a G and owns multiple athletes shows. I respect him.

Jalen Rose wrote on X

In the guise of appreciating Colin Cowherd, Rose was essentially mocking him for having a company that helps a lot of former athletes run podcasts. Club 520 may criticize James once in a while, but is mostly supportive of him.

Cowherd’s company, The Volume, also helped Draymond Green, James’ close friend, start his namesake podcast, which has now become extremely popular and effective in cutting down on the ‘hate’ the four-time league MVP faces.

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