LeBron James is the biggest name in the NBA, even if he isn't exactly the face of the league anymore. That crown has gone to guys like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Victor Wembanyama. However, James remains an elder statesman with even more influence than the commissioner himself, Adam Silver.
Simply put, LeBron's words hold a lot of weight. When he speaks, people listen, and not just the fans. The league's stakeholders listen as well. The sponsors, the owners, the networks. They hang onto James' every word. This is a lot of responsibility, and for over 20 years, LeBron has been about as responsible as you can ask a human being to be. Unfortunately, he slipped up on Thursday during an appearance on the Bob Does Sports YouTube channel.
In this video, LeBron found himself on the golf course with three other men when he was asked about the debate surrounding NBA expansion and relocation. As it stands, the league's owners have set in motion the conditions for two expansion teams. For now, the NBA seems keen on only accepting bids out of Seattle and Las Vegas. Potential ownership groups would have to fork over $7 to $10 billion in order to be considered. They would also have to make sure that their respective cities have an arena that can accommodate NBA basketball. At this time, Seattle and Las Vegas meet this criterion.
LeBron James Does Not Like Memphis
However, the $10 billion startup cost is quite a barrier to entry. Seattle and Las Vegas remain hot commodities as far as expansion markets are concerned. Not to mention, LeBron has expressed interest in being a part-owner of the Las Vegas team. That said, with the prices so high, there has been renewed interest in relocation as an alternative. Some of the candidates for relocation are the New Orleans Pelicans and the Memphis Grizzlies. As you can see below, LeBron jumped on the opportunity to criticize Memphis, a city that has been denigrated quite a bit as of late.
"I’m f***ing 41 years of age. You think I want to do sh** in Memphis on a random Thursday?" LeBron asked. "I’m not the first guy in the NBA to talk about this. You guys got to move the team… go over to Nashville already.” He then went on to say that Vanderbilt, the NASCAR track, and the NHL's Nashville Predators are all factors that make Nashville a better NBA city than Memphis.
It was an uncharacteristic comment for LeBron to make, and one that is quite disappointing given the context. These are also comments that make it seem like James is doing the league's bidding. Meanwhile, he is perpetuating narratives that have been pushed by the same Fox News pundits who are always quick to tell him to "shut up and dribble."
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Memphis Under Fire
For a couple of years now, Memphis, Tennessee, has been the subject of numerous hit pieces regarding the city's quality of life and its crime rate. While the city does, in fact, have one of the highest violent crime rates in the United States, this was never a point of contention until recently. NBA players had never really complained about it. Most Memphis Grizzlies stars had nothing but good things to say about the city. While some players would complain about the hotels, their concerns mostly felt like petty gripes as opposed to valid concerns
However, when Donald Trump became President in January of 2025, he immediately began targeting cities with large Black populations. He did so by deploying the National Guard in cities like Washington, D.C, Los Angeles, New Orleans, and even Memphis. These deployments were highly controversial and led to various legal challenges. That said, the President claimed that this was being done in the name of "crime-fighting." All it did was put a stigma on these cities and gave the American Right more ammo to denigrate marginalized people.
In the case of Memphis, this bled into NBA discourse, as nine months ago, Stephen A. Smith made the claim that players don't want to play for the Grizzlies because of the crime rate.
"The people in Memphis. It's a great sports town. Great fans. Great people. But there's an element there where cats like Jimmy Butler and others don't feel it's the safest environment," Smith explained. "I'm talking to the local authorities in Memphis. You got to clean some of that stuff up because it's dissuasive to NBA players. They have talked about it. I know. They've told me."
This conversation came at a very peculiar time for the NBA, as questions about the Grizzlies' future in Memphis started to take shape. Questions that left the fanbase feeling anxious and concerned.
The NBA and the Small Market Conundrum
For years, there has been a debate about the NBA's distaste for its small-market teams. Naturally, these markets don't make as much money. Fewer fans means less merch. Fewer fans also means weaker TV deals. Memphis, New Orleans, Milwaukee, and Cleveland are just a few of the markets that suffer from these pitfalls. With that being said, it stands to reason that the NBA would be chomping at the bit for a team like the Grizzlies to relocate. Even if they don't go to Las Vegas or Seattle, Nashville would most certainly suffice.
According to The Commercial Appeal, the Grizzlies have renewed their lease at the FedExForum until 2029. Despite this, FedEx Executive Richard Smith was still worried enough about the team's future to hire a "sports advisory firm" to investigate the team's owner, Robert Pera. This was done to ensure he had no plans to move the team. While it seems like Pera is eager to keep the team in Memphis, the mere fact that FedEx had to do this due diligence is a bad sign.
Not to mention, when you have players like LeBron James advocating for the team's relocation, it has the potential to change Pera's mind. Meanwhile, people like the President of the United States are pushing racist narratives about the city. Then you add influential sports commentators like Smith, adding insult to injury, and it becomes very clear that there is some sort of coordinated effort to turn Memphis into some sort of NBA pariah.
LeBron's Comments Feel Like A Betrayal To Many
The content of LeBron's comments is just a small piece of what's disappointing here. To be fair to James, he didn't push an agenda about the crime rate or the people. Instead, he simply said there wasn't anything to do in Memphis. Of course, that's not true. But the context in which he made these comments is where fans are taking issue.
Firstly, LeBron made these comments about a city whose population is 64 percent Black. He did so in front of a group of white men who were quick to make jokes and write the city off as a place with little to no merit. Furthermore, he said this about a city that is known for its rich cultural exports. Not to mention all of the incredible hip-hop artists who came from the city. Artists whom LeBron has expressed his love for in the past. Artists who are a part of the genre LeBron claims to be a "historian" of.
With the right-wing narrative that Memphis is some sort of third-world city becoming so prevalent, LeBron could have used this opportunity to say nice things about the city. Instead, he used his platform to dismiss it. To suggest that the NBA needs to move on from one of the most passionate fan bases in the league. To side with those who more often than not have told him his political aspirations weren't worth a damn.
Another piece to these comments is the hypocrisy. Having come from Akron, Ohio, and having played for the Cleveland Cavaliers, LeBron should know just how important these teams are to the league. After all, it's not like guys were eager to play in Cleveland. LeBron should know. He left twice. But we doubt he'd ever advocate for them to move.
Moreover, as journalist Dawn Montgomery pointed out on social media, LeBron and Nike collaborated on a sneaker inspired by the Lorraine Motel. This is where Martin Luther King Jr. was killed, in Memphis. To then turn around and disparage the entire city demonstrates a complete lack of self-awareness.
LeBron Has Become The Out Of Touch Billionaire
Unfortunately, and it brings me no pleasure to say this, but it does feel as though becoming a billionaire has broken LeBron's brain a little bit. His comments about Memphis go beyond hypocrisy, racist narratives, and a general lack of awareness. Instead, these comments signal that with retirement approaching, LeBron is interested in one thing: capital accumulation.
He wants to own an NBA franchise, and he wants the franchise to be in a hub city like Nashville or Las Vegas. With expansion franchises reaching ridiculous prices, LeBron's best chance at owning a team in retirement would be relocating an existing team to a city of his and the NBA's choice. Clearly, the NBA would love to move to Nashville, and these comments prove that LeBron is completely on board with that. And if it comes at the expense of Memphis, well, to hell with them, right?
It's the kind of mentality that occurs when you lose touch with reality. The people don't matter. The money does. All too often, this is the M.O. in professional sports, and it is sad to see such a legend of the sport become victim to these retched impulses.
What's Next For Memphis?
Going forward, the Memphis Grizzlies are probably going to stay put, at least for now. They have the arena in place for three more years. The players themselves seem committed to the city. Even with everything that has gone on over the past few years, Ja Morant has remained an advocate for Memphis and its fans. Relocation in the NBA is actually quite rare. Ironically, Memphis was the beneficiary of relocation in 2001 when the team left Vancouver.
Unfortunately, LeBron's comments have set a precedent. The NBA is taking notice, and with Nashville chasing an NBA franchise, Adam Silver must be loving what he's hearing. It would be a shame if the Grizzlies left Memphis, but at the end of the day, professional sports are a business. One might say the cruelest of them all.
