As 41-year-old LeBron James enters another postseason series as an underdog with the Los Angeles Lakers, his agent Rich Paul is already prepared for current and former players who will pounce if James loses to the reigning champion Thunder.
James is expected to be without costar Luka Doncic for most of the second-round series against Oklahoma City, and despite James turning back the clock against Houston in the first round, the Thunder are heavy favorites.
In the latest episode of the Game Over podcast, Paul contrasted the reaction to James’ playoff performance to that of the recently ousted Nikola Jokic, claiming current and former players in the media are “happy to see” James lose.
“The reason why you don’t hear a lot of conversation about Jokic is I don’t believe a lot of people are happy to see Jokic lose,” Paul said. “But when LeBron loses, people are happy to see him lose. Especially his peers. Guys who played in the league, that have platforms today. For different reasons, it’s extra. They are happy to see him lose.”
Paul acknowledged that any star athlete should be open to critique, but said negativity crosses a line when it comes with an “agenda.” And all too often, Paul claimed, the commentators who come down hardest on James are members of the NBA fraternity who are driven by such an agenda.
“Some players, I see the extra sauce,” he said. “I just think that in our community, it makes you feel better when someone else has a thing of detriment placed upon them because of what you lack and what you always wanted.”
Paul even detailed how his agency, Klutch Sports, has lost out on young clients it was pursuing because NBA players who dislike James intervened.
“I feel the effects of it, because I’ve had NBA current players, and former players, involve themselves in a recruiting process with a kid — it’s not their son — and purposely push a kid to a different agency because of their disdain for LeBron, and I’m his guy,” Paul said. “So I know what happens.”
While Paul did not delve deeply into the dynamics surrounding James’ relationship with the broader crop of living NBA players, he hinted at deeper cultural issues at play. Regardless of the precise nature of James’ perception of the league, Paul alleges that it hurts Klutch’s business as well as James’ legacy.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.