By about 2009, anti-LeBron James opinions had formed their own cottage industry. Sure LeBron was talented, doubters would say, but he never came through in the clutch, his teams didn’t win, he passed when he should’ve shot, he wasn’t as good as Kobe, he whined too much, etc.
And as LeBron’s career progressed and his teams kept losing in the playoffs, a particularly fiery take began to crop up: LeBron James, the best player of his generation, would never win an NBA championship.
Now that LeBron has three titles, it seems ridiculous that anyone could have ever doubted him, but loads of people did. And we’ve got the tweets to prove it.
There were a few instances of LeBron-will-never-win takes after his Cavaliers teams lost to the Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals in 2010 (chief LeBron hater Skip Bayless stopped just short of that on ESPN that spring), but by the next year, after LeBron had signed with the Heat and lost to the Mavericks in the NBA Finals, doubters were out in full force.
https://twitter.com/bkoepka/status/85083878775209985
https://twitter.com/chrisreimer/status/80321640080228352
https://twitter.com/dcookejr/status/80101510108811265
https://twitter.com/danworthington/status/80106612513193984
Meanwhile, ESPN’s Darren Rovell felt that LeBron’s marketing potential had been tarnished forever.
In the 2012 playoffs, when the Heat fell behind the Celtics 3-2 in the conference finals it looked like deja vu. The anti-LeBron crowd couldn’t even wait one more game to bring out the pitchforks.
https://twitter.com/tmack_0/status/210221251850027008
https://twitter.com/russdiemon/status/210214014251315201
Lebron wont see a ring for maybe anotha 2 years
— J.R. Donato – BIG RISKY 🛸🖤 (@RealJRDonato) June 6, 2012
https://twitter.com/russdiemon/status/210212515911696387
https://twitter.com/blogxilla/status/210211816540872704
Heat will never win a title with lebron and wade on the same team!!!
— #BigSilz (@DanSileoShow) June 6, 2012
LeBron will never win a title.
— Mike Monteiro, cisgender male (@monteiro) June 6, 2012
https://twitter.com/tylerrickytynes/status/210213671647973378
At this point, the NBA had a new prince, the Thunder’s Kevin Durant, and the comparisons with LeBron were inevitable… and not favorable toward The King.
Durant will get a ring before Lebron! lol
— Alen Champ (@ChampChong) June 7, 2012
https://twitter.com/thedjiceberg/status/210581682800177152
@THE_ELPRESADOR Durant is a beast, he'll get a ring before LeBron
— Phil Bozeman (@phillybo) June 7, 2012
https://twitter.com/juanhustle/status/210575213623132160
@DavidClowney Durant gonna get a ring before Lebron!!!
— Derek Hagan (@dhagan80) June 7, 2012
https://twitter.com/lancefresh/status/210575151169937408
We are witnessing the NBA's next generations powerhouse, OKC THUNDER! LeBron may never get a ring, hahahaha! #heathater
— Ike Reese (@Ike58Reese) June 7, 2012
LeBron and the Heat won Game 6 over the Celtics thanks to one of the best performances of LeBron’s career—a 45-point, 15-rebound masterpiece—then won the series in Game 7.
Thanks to several more virtuoso LeBron performances, the Heat beat Durant’s Thunder in the NBA Finals to earn The King his first ring. LeBron won another title with Miami the following year, then returned to Cleveland to deliver the Cavs a title in 2016. Kevin Durant is still waiting.
