Charles Barkley called out LeBron James last week on TNT's "Inside The NBA" for being "whiny" and "inappropriate" in his criticism of the Cavs organization and questioning LeBron's competitive spirit by saying, "Does he want all of the good players? He don't want to compete?"
LeBron initially took the high road saying Barkley's comments were "good for ratings" but last night after another Cavs loss, LeBron lashed out at the Round Mound of Rebound and brought up some dark moments from Barkley's past in the process.
Per ESPN:
"He's a hater," James told ESPN of Barkley on Monday. "What makes what he says credible? Because he's on TV?"
"I'm not going to let him disrespect my legacy like that," James told ESPN. "I'm not the one who threw somebody through a window. I never spit on a kid. I never had unpaid debt in Las Vegas. I never said, 'I'm not a role model.' I never showed up to All-Star Weekend on Sunday because I was in Vegas all weekend partying.
"All I've done for my entire career is represent the NBA the right way. Fourteen years, never got in trouble. Respected the game. Print that."
LeBron continued his verbal assault by saying if Barkley wants to talk to him he better not just show up at the NBA's All-Star weekend to shake his hand and smile. Adding, "screw Charles Barkley."
"I know he wanted to retire a long time ago, but he can't," James said. "He's stuck up on that stage every week."
"And if this makes him want to talk to me, the schedule's out there," James said. "He knows every road arena I'll be in. Don't just come up to me at All-Star and shake my hand and smile."
"I collect one paycheck from this," James said of his role with the Cavs. "There's the owner, Griff's [David Griffin] the GM, I'm the player. Screw Charles Barkley."
LeBron concluded by saying he's done biting his tongue.
