LeBron James has earned a negative reputation in some NBA circles for his habit of recruiting other star players to create superteams and heavily stack the odds in his favor. He convinced Chris Bosh to join him and Dwyane Wade on the Miami Heat, and when he moved to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2018, he brought in Anthony Davis, who, like James, is represented by Klutch Sports Group. One of James’ recruiting efforts backfired in 2021 when his push for the Lakers to acquire Russell Westbrook resulted in a problematic trade.
Kevin Durant appeared to follow James’ strategy when he left Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2016 to join Stephen Curry’s Golden State Warriors, a team that had just set a record with 73 regular-season wins and lost in Game 7 of the NBA Finals.
It was later disclosed that James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, who had defeated the Warriors in that seventh game, also tried to acquire Durant. Former NBA player Rashad McCants resurfaced this information to taunt James on X (formerly Twitter).
While some criticize James for his efforts to build superteams, others commend him for popularizing the “player empowerment” trend that Durant has clearly adopted. This aspect of James’ approach has contributed to his status as one of the most polarizing and fascinating figures in sports.
