*Iman Shumpert believes LeBron James “ruined basketball.”
The former Cavs guard said as much during a recent appearance on the “Bootleg Kev” podcast. Per The Spun, when the host suggested that Kevin Durant “ruined basketball” by jumping from OKC to The Bay in 2016, Shumpert said LeBron did it first.
“It wasn’t KD. It was LeBron first going to Miami,” Shumpert explained. Adding, “[LeBron] knows he ruined basketball.”
“He thought he was making it better,” Shump continued. “I get it. Me personally, I love the NBA for the loyalty that I thought was there. He basically knocked the fourth wall down.”
Watch the moment via the Twitter clip below.
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Did @KingJames ruin basketball? ???? @imanshumpert
[h/t @BootlegKev] #NBA #NBA75 #NBATwitter #LeBronJames #KevinDurant pic.twitter.com/9uxHJyEMQd
— The Plug NBA???? (@theplugnba) December 21, 2021
Shumpert caught major heat on social media with his comments and was quick to defend his remarks Tuesday on Twitter
Responding to a Twitter user who noted that various superteams existed before James joined the Heat, Shump wrote, “Find me the year the top player left his throne and joined someone else? Closest thing was Shaq but Bigs have to pair up and Kobe was the juice. Bron had no need and had all the influence. I can debate this all day.”
Find me the year the top player left his throne and joined someone else? Closest thing was Shaq but Bigs have to pair up and Kobe was the juice. Bron had no need and had all the influence. I can debate this all day. https://t.co/gjQKSNLBpw
— Iman. (@imanshumpert) December 21, 2021
When another user pointed out that Shumpert won a ring with James’ Cavaliers in 2016, Iman replied, “You saw the clip and not the convo. LeBron changed the way teams are built forever. Check the length of these contracts.”
You saw the clip and not the convo. LeBron changed the way teams are built forever. Check the length of these contracts https://t.co/1q9Q3gOgM5
— Iman. (@imanshumpert) December 21, 2021
Elsewhere in the interview, Shumpert addressed LeBron’s tendency to flop to draw a foul.
“The worst thing we had against LeBron was like, ‘Bro, why you flopping?’” Shumpert said. “And literally, he started flopping cause he like, ‘Bro, I gotta get these free throws if these people getting free throws.’ He like, ‘Bro, I’m really getting hit.’ So he like, ‘Ah, I’ll sell it for you cause they can’t see it cause I’m so strong. Y’all can’t see me getting fouled.’”
Watch Shumpert’s full interview with Bootleg Kev below.
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