Stephen A's Take: Lebron James slams negativity in NBA Coverage.

I wanted to get into what Lebron had to say about Anthony Edwards post game and a conversation surrounding Edwards becoming the face of the NBA. Take a listen to this place.

Cats are sitting out. Is it because All Star weekends arrives and folks don't learn that Lebron James is playing is not playing rather until the last minute. Is it because he's never participated in the Slam Dunk contest, thereby ruining it, because he's the first marquee name with slam dunking ability like that to refuse to participate in an

All Star Slam Dunk contest ever in his career. The way Jordan did Dominique did, Doctor j did, David Thompson did, Harold Minor did, Jason Richardson did, Tracy McGrady did, Vince Carter did, Kobe did? Zach Lavine did? Aaron Gordon? Did? Nate Robinson did? Spud Web did the way all of these people did. He elected. That's how we're shitting on the league. See, this is the con of stuff that pisses people like myself off. I've covered the NBA for

thirty years. I'm successful in life because of the NBA and what it's done for my life. So is Lebron. So are thousands upon thousands of players that have come through the league. Just recently, the league signed an eleven year, seventy seven billion dollar deal. Well, how that come about sponsors and advertisers? That's how Yet, somehow, some way, we're gonna sit up there and say you shouldn't want to be the face of the league because folks are shitting

on the league. Well, who are these folks? Let me tell you who it is. It's everybody in social media. But you see where the problem is and why I think Lebron's comments was bullshit was because he doesn't specify who he's talking about. So folks on social media who do all of this salacious nonsense get lumped in with the rest of the media, and nobody differentiates from the other. Social media and in the locker room. Social media doesn't

ignore your personal life. Social media doesn't ignore your personal business. Social media doesn't have the class and the decorum to avoid touching on those different things because it has nothing to do with the game of basketball. That's the media. People like myself and various others. Now, to be clear and to put myself on front street, y'all do understand I'm under no obligation to talk about the NBA as much as I do, but I do. The league is happy with it, the network is happy with it, the

fans are happy with it. Most of the don't. When you talk about folks who are covering your sport, did you know that that would happen to be some former players because they were part of the show, and they were part of the ESPN network and various other networks. Former players preside over there, current players come there, coaches as well, league officials as well. How can we don't bring that up? How can we don't talk about those things? You see what has happened, and what has transpired and

what's sickening. Let me tell you the most egregious shit of it all that nobody brings up. Barkley, Charles Barkley, All Time seventy fifth anniversary play, a Hall of Famer, one of the greatest players in the NBA history. You had cats clapping at him. You've had some cats try to clap back at shock. Four time champion, arguably the most dominant force ever clearly the most dominant force of our lifetime. To Wilt Chamberlain. I try to talk about him.

They talk about we don't celebrate the game enough. Really, what's your definition of celebration? Last time I checked this? Talking about the game, we gotta pedal you with roses when you shoot two for twenty, or when somebody drops fifty on you, or when you lose games in playoff series that you're supposed to win. And here's the crime, here's the crime. You know what else happens? Lebron James can have a bad game against KD, or KD can have a bad game against Steph Curry, or Steph Curry

can have a bad game against Jalen Brunton or somebody. Oh, these dudes they always down in the brothers. Well, who the hell were you playing against? Wasn't that a brother? You're covering the game, you're talking about competition, and if you're talking about the sport, how is that downing another black person? If Lamart Roach steps into the boxing ring and gets knocked the hell out by Javonte Davis and I said he got knocked the hell out by Javonte Davis,

is that me down in a brother. How come it can't be me acknowledging what Tank Davis did. What are we talking about here? The greatest of all time is Muhammad Ali. He's my idol. I know and adore and love his daughter Layla. She's been friends with me for years. He also called Joe Frasier gorilla, said he was too ugly to be champion during the immediate aftermath of the

Civil rights movement. If we want to get real, after Joe Frazier had intended a helping hand to help him when he was banned from boxing and denied the license to fight, America revered him as well you should. But I'm just talking about how backwards we can be sometimes

we ignore certain things we love others. I remember when cats were getting at me because I said, O J. Simpson did it deserve to be acknowledged the way that he was during some awards event, and you had cats coming after me as if I was the one that was on trial for my life for commit in double murder time and time and time again. The most salacious, the most ridiculous, the most egregious acts associated with human beings, And I'm certainly not comparing Muhammad alaid O j Simpson

or anything like that. Please don't get me wrong. I'm simply making the point that it's amazing in what we support and what we denigrate. Lebron James, to me is the second greatest player in the history of basketball. You have people out there acting like I've hated on him because I have him as number two all time, and he co signs with it. Anthony Davis doesn't want to be the face of the league and other players don't want to be responsible, and he co signs with that.

Notice he did all of this after he got his money. Bron's worth the billion dollars he got his money. So now we want to take those positions. Now we want to encourage people to have a kind of mentality that

sifts through the industry like a virus. So you can look down upon and be dismissive of, and dare I say hey on pundits and others because you may not like what they're saying, and you're encouraging them to do it now, knowing it ain't gonna work for them down the line, But you don't care because you got yours and one player after another falsefood hook line of sinker. Remember when Lebron was in the bubble. He said, I got mine. Y'all don't have to sihour with me if

y'all don't want to. I don't need this shit. I don't need it. I'm cool. Remember that. Remember when I told y'all when he took his talents to South Beach and he didn't let the owner know and he had to find out, Dan, you might have to find out a national television like everybody else, that players were gonna come back and pay a price for that because there

was a collective barketing agreement coming down the pike. At least seven percent of basketball related income equating to about two billion dollars was going to be snatched away from them. Remember when I said that. Remember when I talked about player movement, I lot Chris Paul going to the Los Angeles Lakers and Dan Gilbert, who had nothing to do with it, writing an open letter to the owners and making it public to speak out against a trade such

as this. It wasn't just that Dan Gilbert was against player movement. It's that Chris Paul and Lebron James is pretty tight godfathers to one another's children. If I remember correctly, and that was a shot that Dan Gilbert took. Remember that. Remember when the whole George Floyd thing was going on after he had been murdered by Derek Schauvin at police officer in Minnesota, and everybody was talking about locking arms. And I was ignored when I said, bump, just locking arms.

You got the monetary cachet to have your own lobbyists to go up on Capitol Hill persuade lawmakers to sign things into law, to make things easier and to provoke real change. And I was ignored. I said all of

these things, one thing after another. Ignored. But we want to sit here and because people might have questions or point out things that they don't like, when ninety nine percent of the time all we're doing is revering the greatness of Lebron James and how we're going to miss him when he's gone, And all he can remember is folks shitting on the NBA. Who shits on the NBA more than some of these players. It ain't the media doing that. It's the players not protecting their own brand

that has made them wealthy beyond their wildness imaginations. That's what's going on. And back to Lebron In this regard Bronnie James, it's somebody that I hope will make the NBA and I believe will make the NBA someday. He's a good kid, and by all accounts, everybody loves them, and everybody's rooting for him and hopes that he makes it, and I personally believe he will. I think he will because it's a fast learning needs a talent, and we saw what he's been doing in the G League ladies

and gentlemen. The opening game of the season. Brownie James wasn't an NBA caliber player. We all knew that, and we all knew the only reason he was on a roster was because his father is Lebron James. Everyone stood back and paid homage and said, it's the least we could do for Lebron James. He deserves that, and we celebrated it. Although we knew it wasn't based on merit. Everyone went along with it. The league went along with it, the Lakers went along with it, the media went along

with it. Everybody did Lebron James mention that.

is the one shitting on the league. And sadly some of y'all going for off of that bullshit that Lebron threw out there, pointing the finger in every other direction but that of himself and his brethren. I'm so surprised. I'm so surprised.