Charles Barkley was among the loudest voices calling LeBron James’s move to the Philadelphia 76ers nothing more than ring-chasing. But he didn’t go unchallenged. Shaquille O’Neal was quick to come to LeBron’s defense, and he wasn’t alone. Another former star turned broadcaster has also stepped up to go to bat for Bron once again.
Eddie A. Johnson, a former Sixth Man of the Year, did not appreciate Polynice’s claim that LeBron James has underachieved in his career. Interestingly, this revelation came on SiriusXM’s NBA Radio show, which Johnson hosts.
“This was on my show,” Johnson tweeted. “I tried to reach through the camera and choke him 🤣🤣. Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots. — Luke 23:34 (KJV).”
The 18-year veteran even linked the Bible verse while jokingly saying he wanted to reach through the camera and choke Polynice during the discussion on his show. Polynice’s stance that LeBron James was underachieving was directly linked to Bron’s failure to average a triple-double, compared to Russell Westbrook.
“I love LeBron,” Polynice said on the show. “I really do. I think he’s one of the greatest ever, ever. What he’s doing right now, we’ve never seen before, and I won’t even get into the off the court. He is by himself over there. But at the same time, I can still be critical of him on some things. One in particular, I thought LeBron should have averaged a triple double way before Russell Westbrook. That’s my opinion, because he’s big, strong, and everything else.
“He’s the most talented guy that we’ve seen in a long time. But yet, Russell Westbrook averaged a triple double, and LeBron didn’t. So I can be critical about stuff like that, because I still believe, believe it or not, this is going to be the weirdest thing ever uttered. I believe LeBron James underachieved.”
LeBron James has been criticized before. Like ring chasing, orchestrating and influencing his larger team to pick his teammates. But being labeled as an underachiever for not averaging a triple-double came as a surprise, even to Johnson.
Bron has won four NBA championships, four MVP awards and four Finals MVPs. He has also passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA’s all-time leading scorer and remains one of the league’s most productive players deep into his career.
He has reached the Finals 10 times and helped three different franchises win championships. Time and again, Johnson has debated the unfair evaluation of James’ career compared with other superstars.
Earlier, Johnson brought up Aaron Donald, who decided to return to football and play alongside Myles Garrett with the Rams, to push back against another criticism of James: the idea that players choose better situations to compete for championships.
“Is this considered Ring Chasing or it only applies to certain players who play basketball?” Johnson wrote on X.
The Suns analyst also defended LeBron James in debates involving Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. When Stephen Jackson weighed in on James’ place in the GOAT conversation, Johnson pushed back with a hypothetical involving the supporting casts Jordan and Shaquille O’Neal had during their championship runs.
“Hey Jack, do you think LeBron would have left Phil Jackson, Scottie Pippen, Horace Grant, Dennis Rodman and Ron Harper? Do you think he would have left Shaq, Horry, Fisher, and the other excellent role guys the Lakers had if they were Cleveland? H*ck No,” Johnson wrote.
The criticism is on the back of the 41-year-old, who led the team with a series-high 23.3 points per game against the Houston Rockets in the first round.
This was without Luka Doncic on the Lakers team. LeBron James then dropped 23.2 points per game against the OKC Thunder in the second round.
That’s why analysts like Eddie Johnson have come to Bron’s defense time and time again, irrespective of any debate.