Another day and another former LeBron James teammate making some comments that are sure to move the meter a bit. Not too long ago JR Smith mentioned that playing with James was a “gift and a curse,” because of the pressure that comes with playing with James. Now James’ teammate in Miami Mario Chalmers has chimed in with his opinion on how opposing players view Bron.
In a recent interview with the Playmaker HQ podcast, Chalmers, who won two NBA championships alongside Bron with the Heat, says players aren’t afraid of the NBA’s all-time leading scorer:
Mario Chalmers Says Nobody Fears LeBron
“Nobody fears Bron,” Chalmers said on the Playmaker HQ podcast. “Nobody’s like, ‘Damn, I gotta go play against Bron tonight.’ Nobody said that. I don’t know why, because I seen people be scared when they actually line up to him, but they’re not scared thinking about the matchup.”
Interesting take from Chalmers, but how would he know who’s scared prior to the matchup? But then he says when they see him on the floor, then maybe they’re scared, heck they could’ve been afraid from the time they knew he was on the schedule, or they may have never been afraid. Chalmers is all over the place with this assessment.
Tristan Thompson Stands Up For LBJ
LBJ has made Tristan Thompson a ton of money by getting teams to bless the celebrity 7-footer with huge bags to be part of Bron’s traveling band. So there’s no surprise here that Thompson is defending his friend and cash cow. It is odd that Thompson, who is still dealing with his own mess stemming from his inability to strap up when he goes in,
Two weeks ago, Maralee Nichols (a woman whose pregnancy Thompson disputed, lost the paternity test and he now pays almost $10K per month for the child) shared a photo of herself and Tristan Thompson’s son, Theo, after Khloé Kardashian posted a snap of the NBA star with his other three kids.
He stays in some off the court drama, but he still has time to get in on this basketball beef.
While no one will ever compare the fear Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant put into opponents to that of what Bron does, there are definitely some players and even teams who feared a younger Bron. For example just ask the Toronto Raptors, who saw their coach Dwayne Casey fired the same year he won NBA Coach of the Year, after being swept by the Cleveland Cavaliers. The entire series the Raptors and their coach looked shook by James.
That’s probably the exact reason Thompson is speaking up for his good friend and former teammate. During an appearance on “The Draymond Green Show,” Thompson had this to say concerning that very thing”
“That pisses me off. Mario Chalmers, at one point you were probably texting LeBron, trying to get on a team and get a job,” Thompson said on the show. “Guys be on some sucker s—. I don’t like that kind of stuff… Guys are retired and not playing basketball, now you want to talk s— about a guy that you won a championship with?”
While Thompson is speaking some facts, the ploy is a brilliant move by Chalmers to get his name back in the atmosphere, so to speak.
Chalmers Says He Was Open On Historic Ray Allen Three-Pointer
Not only did “Rio,” as he’s affectionately known say that about LBJ, he also says he was open on the infamous Ray Allen game-tying three in waning seconds of Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals.
In a recent interview with AM 560 Sports WQAM, Chalmers talked about that play. Says he told Allen this.
“I was wide open, and I wanted the shot… I think I even told him something like good shot but I was open too. … I would’ve definitely made it.”
Nice try, Chalmers, but we’re talking about Ray Allen, who at the time was the NBA’s all-time leader in three-point makes, a record Steph Curry has broken and is still adding distance to.
If Chalmers‘ goal was to have his name and voice heard again, it worked because of these hot takes. Enjoy “Rio,” because it won’t last long.
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