LeBron James called it a “slow news day” when the president weighed in on his golf swing during the national anthem. Former NBA player Eddie A. Johnson has since added another name to the conversation: Nikola Jokic.
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Johnson reacted to a video of the Nuggets star and teammate Jamal Murray stretching during a pregame anthem, and asked whether the same standard applies to them.
“Is the National Anthem playing? Asking for a friend!” Johnson wrote on X. He was responding to a post asking where the right-wing and MAGA outrage was when Jokic and Murray did the same thing during the anthem.
Fans shared a video of the Nuggets duo stretching before a game, prompting questions about an apparent double standard.
The comparison arrived after the James criticism had already spread. The post Johnson reacted to highlighted outrage that included a response from President Donald Trump and criticism from Charles Barkley. Barkley called James’ behavior “very disrespectful,” according to SiriusXM NBA Radio. Johnson’s reply brought a different pair of players into a debate that had centered on one.
The original incident came before the 76ers’ season opener. After a game against the New York Knicks, a video circulated of James practicing his golf swing as “The Star-Spangled Banner” played. The clip drew criticism online, including from OutKick founder Clay Travis, and Trump called James out on Truth Social. Another former player, Jason Williams, has now given his view too.
Williams made his comments on his podcast, and they were direct. “MFers should just stand the f*** still during the national anthem, that’s just my opinion,” he said. “I bet he got fined for that too. You’re supposed to stand still. Look, they’re all dressed the same, he’s dressed different. Guarantee he got fined, coz you’re all supposed to be dressed the same, supposed to be standing still. When I played, that’s the rules.”
Williams spent 12 seasons in the NBA with the Grizzlies, Kings, Heat and Magic and co-hosts Barstool Sports’ “Hoopin’ N Hollerin’.” His co-host, Adam Ferrone, insisted there was no way James had been fined. Williams also acknowledged that the rules may have changed since he played, but said he was sure James got fined. His claim is a prediction rather than something he reported.
The NBA has not levied any fines against James for his anthem warm-ups. The league has had an anthem policy since 1981 requiring players, coaches and staff to stand in a respectful posture at the foul lines during the American or Canadian anthem. The written policy, as publicly described, requires a respectful posture rather than a specific degree of stillness, which is what Williams and Barkley argued.
Johnson’s post and Williams’ comments both rest on the question of a standard. Williams says the rule is clear and that James broke it. Johnson asks why the same attention didn’t follow Jokic and Murray. Until the NBA says more, the debate over what counts as standing still for the anthem remains unsettled.