Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James has his fair share of critics, and there are perhaps none bigger than former NBA center Enes Freedom.
During a recent podcast appearance, Freedom ripped into James. He argued that nobody wants to play with the future Hall of Famer except James’ own son Bronny and said that the 39-year-old isn’t a good teammate. As evidence, he pointed to the way the elder James handled L.A.’s failed partnership with veteran guard Russell Westbrook.
Freedom also had a lot else to say.
“He (the younger James) might be a good dude, but he’s not good enough to play in the NBA,” Freedom said. “The reason he got drafted is because of LeBron. The reason J.J. Redick is the coach is because of LeBron.”
Freedom continued.
“No other player wants to go play with LeBron,” Freedom said. “You had so many other free agents. … No one wanted to go play with him, because they know that it’s all about LeBron. They’re gonna get zero clout. … When the Lakers’ season fails, LeBron tries to find a player to blame, and he blamed the whole season on Russell Westbrook, so he is not a good teammate. Obviously, he runs the media, and he tries to control this narrative, but when you actually know and have a conversation inside of the NBA and its players, nobody wants to play with him.
“… When I see a dictator, I know it – LeBron is literally like the dictator of the NBA. He controls the media. He controls his narrative. If you go against his agenda, you get traded. Everybody knows it.”
Freedom has a track record of digging into the elder James over political topics. The former NBA journeyman most recently played in the league in the 2021-22 season, and he believes he was blackballed from the NBA over his political outspokenness.
This offseason, the Lakers drafted the younger James, a 19-year-old out of the University of Southern California. The move has been met with some controversy, as some believe that the youngster was only drafted because of his father.
But other teams reportedly also considered drafting him, and he did enough during his predraft process to open some eyes. He will look to prove his worth to the Lakers in the coming years after signing a four-year contract with them.
Regarding Westbrook, he spent the 2021-22 season with the Lakers and part of the following season with them before being traded. In his first season with the team, the hope was that he, the elder James and Anthony Davis would form a lethal Big 3, but that wasn’t the outcome, with L.A. instead struggling all season and missing the playoffs.
Westbrook became a major scapegoat for the failed season, and his stint with the team is something that all involved parties would probably like to forget.
But Freedom’s claim that virtually nobody wants to play with the elder James may not be entirely accurate. Just days ago, Golden State Warriors veteran Draymond Green suggested that he’d welcome a chance to team up with the elder James, and one has to imagine that a handful of players around the league would be thrilled to play alongside one of the greatest players in NBA history.
However, Freedom isn’t the first person to make such a claim, so there may be some folks that share his belief.
