LeBron James has over 200 million followers on X and Instagram alone, more than the combined population of European countries such as the United Kingdom, France and Spain.
That’s how much influence the Lakers star wields on social media. James is, however, tired of the toxic nature of the discourse on the various platforms. On Wednesday, he announced his decision to take a break from social media.
In the lead-up to his exit message, James re-tweeted a post from Rich Kleiman, Kevin Durant’s longtime manager, who, too, took a break from social media last month.
The posts came after “The King” was vilified on social media for comments he made about teammate Dalton Knecht on Tuesday night. After the Lakers rookie went off for a career-high 37 points, James took pride in forecasting Knecht’s NBA success in April when the sharpshooter was lighting up the NCAA Tournament for Tennessee.
“Everybody on the internet calls me a liar all the time, so, what am I now?” James asked reporters while praising Knecht.
James’ flex didn’t sit right with many of his detractors, who posted dozens of videos where he apparently spewed falsehoods to fit his narrative. As highlighted by Yardbarker’s Adam Taylor, the internet was flooded with “countless memes and videos” purporting to show James “stretching the truth during interviews with the media.”
One can assume all those memes and videos pushed James over the edge to the point of leaving social media, albeit temporarily.
Although James got it right with Knecht, he hasn’t always been the best talent evaluator. He urged the Heat to draft Norris Cole and the Lakers to pick Talen Horton-Tucker, the latter of whom he dubbed “special” and “HIM” in 2021. Neither player lived up to the billing.
Furthermore, Yardbarker’s Sean Keane listed the various instances where James “claimed to have foreknowledge of events” before they occurred. The internet had a field day reminding James of each of those comments. It’s a shame James let the negativity get to him.
