Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who was on hand to award Los Angeles Lakers star Carmelo Anthony with the first-ever Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Social Justice Champion Trophy ahead of Sunday’s Lakers-Nuggets matchup, took some time to be openly critical of LeBron James for several reasons.
Abdul-Jabbar said, “I’m not gonna be on LeBron’s case, or dragging him down, I just want him to think about what he’s doing sometimes.” Those comments after even worse comments while he spoke with ESPN, where he said, “Some of the things he’s done and said are really beneath him, as far as I can see. Some of the great things that he’s done, he’s standing on both sides of the fence almost, you know? It makes it hard for me to accept that when he’s committed himself to a different take on everything. It’s hard to figure out where he’s standing. You’ve got to check him out every time.”
The NBA legend has since had a change of heart and is now apologetic for what he said.
“All I have to say is this: I was there to give Carmelo Anthony the NBA Social Justice Champion Award. I’ve been talking to the press since high school, that’s 60 years of making statements. And I haven’t always gotten it right. And Sunday was one of those nights,” Abdul-Jabbar said Monday on SiriusXM NBA Radio, via ESPN.com.
“It wasn’t my intention to criticize LeBron in any way. He has done so much for the Black community as well as for the game of basketball. We may not always agree, but I want to wholeheartedly apologize to LeBron and make it clear to him that I have tremendous respect for him. And if he can accept that, I’ll be very happy.”
This wasn’t the first time that Abdul-Jabbar was critical of LeBron this season. He took issue with James’ crotch-grabbing dance following a three-pointer in a game against the Indiana Pacers in November.
“For me, winning is enough,” Abdul-Jabbar said then, via a Substack video. “Why do you need to do a stupid, childish dance and disrespect the other team on the court? It doesn’t make sense. GOATs don’t dance.”
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He also called a social media post of James’ into question, which features a popular Spiderman meme, likening COVID-19 to a common cold and the flu.
James has yet to make much comment on the continued criticism from Kareem.
