It was lost in the shuffle of another loss this time at the hand of the Dallas Mavericks but LeBron James dropped the ole "A-Bomb" last night and the NBA as we know it is officially under siege.
Let's rewind a bit first...
LeBron has been biting his tongue for a few days after Charles Barkley, a basketball analyst, criticized "King James" on TNT's "Inside the NBA". Here's what "Sir Charles" has to say...
"Inappropriate. Whiny. All of the above," Barkley said. "The Cleveland Cavaliers, they have given him everything he wanted. They have the highest payroll in NBA history. He wanted J.R. Smith last summer, they paid him. He wanted Shumpert last summer. They brought in Kyle Korver. He's the best player in the world. Does he want all of the good players? He don't want to compete? He is an amazing player. They're the defending champs."
I think it's safe to say that rubbed LeBron the wrong way and after the game last night, ESPN.com caught up with LeBron who delivered this money quote that drew a big fat line in the sand...
"He's a hater," James said of Barkley. "What makes what he says credible? Because he's on TV? I'm not going to let him disrespect my legacy like that. 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."
Then he dropped the hammer. A quote that is so pointed, so personal that there's no avoiding the feud from here on out...
"Screw Charles Barkley. I'm tired of biting my tongue," James said. "There's a new sheriff in town."
CLICK HERE to read the full article over at ESPN.com...