Los Angeles Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar ripped LeBron James for actions that he believes soil his efforts toward improving society.
Abdul-Jabbar was at Crypto.com Arena on Sunday to present Carmelo Anthony with a social justice award and criticized James for behavior he felt was immature or simply inconsistent.
“Some of the things he’s done and said are really beneath him, as far as I can see,” Abdul-Jabbar said. “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 criticism isn’t the first time that Abdul-Jabbar has expressed disapproval toward James. During the course of this season, he’s criticized James for his celebration after a clutch shot and the superstar’s cryptic social media post about the COVID-19 vaccine.
Over his entire career, James has been the focus of plenty of criticism related to both his play on the court and his statements off of it.
In the latter case, conservatives have often delivered their own criticism toward James over issues relating to law enforcement or the treatment of African-Americans.
While Abdul-Jabbar’s comments were blunt toward James, he’s open to establishing a more one-on-one dialogue with the Lakers veteran.
James is presently seeking to overtake Abdul-Jabbar as the all-time leading scorer in NBA history, with Abdul-Jabbar actually embracing the effort.
For now, James and the Lakers are watching their season sputter to a frustrating end, with the Lakers dropping a 129-118 contest to the Nuggets on Sunday.
That defeat dropped them to 31-47 on the year, putting them 1.5 games behind the final play-in spot in the Western Conference. With just four games left in the regular season, even the chances of getting into that 10th and final spot become more remote every day.
