Despite the fact that LeBron James has earned over $1 billion during his NBA career and has a record of philanthropy, two of his Los Angeles Lakers teammates jokingly endorsed the perception that the superstar is cheap.
Jared Dudley and Alex Caruso conducted a joint session on Instagram Live on Saturday, with Dudley indicating that James doesn’t pick up the tab at restaurants for teammates
“He is cheap, bro,” Caruso said. “That’s one thing people don’t realize. Rich people, bro…they want to keep their money.”
The idea that James is tightfisted isn’t new, with his close friend Dwyane Wade also offering that assessment during a 2017 interview.
My chat w/ @KingJames & @DwyaneWade debuts during MNF but here’s a little preview of what happens when you get best friends back together 😂 pic.twitter.com/O2KYjik3FT
— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) October 15, 2017
That mindset of James to protect his money might seem trivial considering that he signed a four-year contract with the Lakers in 2018 worth a possible $153.3 million. During the final year of that deal for the 2021-22 campaign, James is scheduled to make just over $41 million if he picks up the player option on his contract.
However, James grew up in abject poverty in Akron, Ohio, frequently moving with his mother into a series of homes and likely has haunting memories of those days.
James is also aware of the financial ruin that other players in all sports have found themselves in, due to excessive spending or a lack of awareness as to where their money is going.
The thinking that James is selfish with his money is wrong, considering that he’s worked to build a school for at-risk children in his hometown and has frequently displayed his social conscience on controversial issues. In the latter instance, that approach could be detrimental to his off-the-court earnings.
When James, Dudley and Caruso get together again, James may offer his own jokes toward his teammates. Exactly when that takes place remains unknown.
