Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James has a reputation as a giving man who looks to empower his teammates, but it doesn’t mean he won’t confront them when he feels they aren’t getting the job done.
Iman Shumpert, one of his former teammates, recalled such a situation (38:20) while on his podcast “Iman Amongst Men.”
“We was playing with Cleveland and boy, Bron a– in the middle of, it was at the end,” said Shumpert. “Shorty (James) grabbed the ball at the top of the key to calm us down. I don’t remember if I was not headed over there or what, but he said, ‘Shump, corner, now!’ Shorty, I looked around. I looked at T. Lue, everybody looking with the eyes like, ‘Hurry up. You gonna do it?’ Look, Cleveland is quiet as hell, and I’m like, ‘Bro, if I react, I’m the most selfish person on the earth.’ I’m like, I don’t know if he realize how he just said this bro, but I don’t like being talked to like that. I don’t like that. But he said it with so much command. If he wasn’t talking to me, I’d have been proud of him like, ‘Yeah man, you took control.’ But he was talking to me so I wasn’t rolling. Bron, I ended up going to the corner for you, but I did drag my feet, and I apologize for that, you know what I’m saying, ’cause it was like, as a man, I really didn’t know how to deal with that, bro, like I don’t know, you know what I’m saying. Your voice ain’t have to get that deep to tell me to go to the corner. … It was your stature at the moment. I didn’t appreciate the stature, but afterwards … I approached the man in the shower to tell him, ‘Bro, come on man. I’ma run through a wall for you, dog.'”
Over the years, James has developed a reputation as one of the best leaders, if not the best leader in the NBA. He has learned how to be positive and constructive with his teammates while still getting on them when needed.
Shumpert originally arrived with the Cleveland Cavaliers in a midseason trade during the 2014-15 campaign. His versatility, defense and 3-point shooting made him a valuable role player for the team almost instantly.
Shumpert remained with James and the Cavs through the 2018 season. Together, he and the four-time MVP went to the NBA Finals in each of their seasons as teammates.
Many of the all-time greats, especially Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, were fiery leaders who would direct tons of ire towards their teammates when they felt like the job wasn’t being done to satisfaction.
Perhaps James is a little bit less fiery, and a little more positive and patient, than Jordan or Bryant, but he clearly isn’t afraid to keep it real, especially in important moments.
No one can argue too much with the results, as he has gotten four NBA championship rings for himself while winning at least one title with each of the three teams he has played on.
