Los Angeles Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar criticizes some of LeBron James' actions

LOS ANGELES — Kareem Abdul-Jabbar publicly criticized LeBron James once again Sunday, with the Los Angeles Lakers legend saying he believes the current Lakers star has a greater responsibility in how he conducts himself given his elevated platform.

«Some of the things he's done and said are really beneath him, as far as I can see,» Abdul-Jabbar said before the Lakers' game against the Denver Nuggets. «Some of the great things that he's done, he's standing on both sides of the fence almost, you know? It makes it hard for me to accept that when he's committed himself to a different take on everything. It's hard to figure out where he's standing. You've got to check him out every time.»

Abdul-Jabbar, on hand to present James' teammate, Carmelo Anthony, with the newly designed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Trophy to honor Anthony as the NBA's Social Justice Champion for the 2020-21 season, already voiced his disappointment in James several times this season.

After James celebrated a late-game 3 in an overtime win against the Indiana Pacers by mimicking the dance that former NBA All-Star Sam Cassell made popular, accentuating his nether regions, Abdul-Jabbar was pointed in his disapproval.

«For me, winning is enough,» Abdul-Jabbar said in a video posted through Substack, a subscription commentary website, in early December. «Why do you need to do a stupid, childish dance and disrespect the other team on the court? It doesn't make sense. GOATs don't dance.»

Later that month, Abdul-Jabbar took aim at James once again after the four-time MVP shared a Spider-Man meme to his Instagram account showing three identical Spider-Man characters pointing at one another, affixed with the labels «COVID,» «cold,» and «flu.»

Abdul-Jabbar wrote on