LeBron James takes shot at ‘old school hater’ Charles Barkley while praising legend Bill Walton
LeBron James took a dig at Charles Barkley for being an 'old school hater' amidst high praise for the legendary Bill Walton.
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LeBron James takes a dig at Charles Barkley amidst Bill Walton praise
Over the course of his career, LeBron James has been at the receiving end of criticism ever since his NBA career started. It’s seldom that James finds himself at the receiving end of unadulterated praise. However, James spoke to the media about the legendary Bill Walton’s praise for him while taking some shots at Charles Barkley.
Following the Los Angeles Lakers’ victory over the Golden State Warriors, LeBron James was asked about his thoughts on Bill Walton providing color commentary for the first-ever televised high school basketball game for James on ESPN. The Lakers star, now 40, looked back on Walton’s high praise for him while calling out some of the ‘old school haters’ currently talking hoops.
First of all, I miss Bill Walton. He was always a fan of mine, always kept it real with me, and always appreciated my game. He wasn’t one of those like, old school haters that you have in the NBA.
LeBron James told The Guardian’s Claire De Lune
James’ comments about ‘old school haters’ did not mention any player or analyst specifically. However, given Charles Barkley’s recent comments about James and the Lakers, it’s not hard to connect the dots. Barkley has generally been one of the more critical former stars when discussing the Lakers or LeBron James. In fact, the Chuckster has even gone on to state that James is not a top 5 player of all time.
and yes, that appears to be significant shade levied at charles barkley https://t.co/0yvDx0mxcC
— claire de lune (@ClaireMPLS) February 7, 2025
On the other hand, James spoke about the praise that he had received from a legend like Bill Walton. As Clair De Lune stated, Walton was on the broadcast during James’ first televised high school game and referred to ‘basketball as an extension of his mind.’ The 21x All-Star remembered Walton fondly, speaking extensively about the appreciation that the two had for each other.
Bill Walton once praised LeBron James for being a man amongst children
One of the most memorable things about the late Bill Walton was that he always had something nice to say about people. LeBron James more than witnessed this first-hand off the court. Back in 2017, Walton had once levied high praise on James, calling him so dominant that he made other players on the court look like they played in middle school.
I mean, there were really really good players out there on the court tonight and he made everybody look like they were in middle school.
Bill Walton spoke of LeBron James
The late legend referenced a game that James played in 2017, for which Walton had been present. Although the game was like any other NBA match, Walton described how he was struck by ‘King James’ dominance on the court.
According to the 1978 MVP, LeBron James was so dominant on the court, both physically and with his mental acumen, that he made other players look far inferior. It’s no wonder, then, that James was so touched by the praise Big Red used to levy on him. This is a major reason for the heartfelt tribute James posted for Walton when he tragically passed away last year.
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Armaan Gupta
(405 Articles Published)