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Mario Chalmers says nobody fears LeBron James

Published by

Grant Cohen

March 20, 2023 4:59 pm

One of LeBron James’ former teammates recently made some interesting comments in regards to the NBA’s all-time scoring leader. In an appearance on the In Shambles podcast, Mario Chalmers made a bold claim about how other competitors view James.

Chalmers, who was James’ teammate on the Miami Heat from 2010 to 2014, seemed adamant that “The King” just doesn’t command the fear that NBA legend Michael Jordan used to.

The comments come as somewhat of a surprise, considering James has made life extremely difficult for countless opponents over the course of his 20-year NBA career. James is one of the most able-bodied and competitive athletes in the history of sports, let alone the NBA.

While playing for the Heat, James and Chalmers made four straight NBA Finals appearances and even took home two championships. However, James often laid into Chalmers verbally and Chalmers often ended up as the team’s “punching bag” in a manner of speaking.

There was also a particularly infamous incident between James and Chalmers that made waves in the media back in the day. In a game, James and Chalmers got into a disagreement on the bench that almost came to blows. Chalmers confronted James on the team’s bench and apparently told him he was “playing like a b—-.”

James reacted by aggressively lunging toward Chalmers, appearing ready to get physical with the 6-foot-2 guard. James had to be held back by teammates while Chalmers continued to jaw back at him. James eventually apologized to “Rio” for the incident. But the running theme of Chalmers seemingly getting on the team’s nerves continued throughout James’ time with the Heat.

When the 2013 NBA champion Heat team was invited to the White House, President Barack Obama even made a joke about how the team is always yelling at Chalmers.

Although Chalmers has generally remained professional about his imperfect relationship with James, it’s not unreasonable to speculate that his recent comments may have come from a bit of built-up resentment toward James.

Grant Cohen

Grant Cohen is a Los Angeles resident and freelance writer for Lakers Daily. He graduated from the University of Central Florida and some of his earliest basketball memories involve watching Shaq and Kobe three-peat the early 2000s.