LeBron James went through his usual warmup routine again Thursday night, and then he came out firing.
The 76ers superstar responded to criticism from Donald Trump stemming from his continued pregame activities during the national anthem before Tuesday’s season-opener against the Knicks.
“It’s a slow news day at the office, you know,” James said. “Slow news day in the office.”
The NBA’s all-time leading scorer swung his arms and mimed a golf shot during during Avery Wilson’s rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday.
“While listening to our National Anthem, LeBron James disrespects our Country,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. “LeBron James should apologize to all of those Great American Warriors and Heroes who died for the American Flag, and all that our Country stands for!”
Ahead of Thursday night’s home opener against the Cavaliers, James was much more subdued during the anthem — not that he or his teammates were taking Trump’s post to heart.
“I think that goes right in with other outside noise we’ve already had,” coach Nick Nurse said before the 106-100 win that improved his team to 2-0. “I keep saying the same thing. All I really care about is getting to the practice floor, getting them in the film room, getting them to the game floor. The focus that they’ve had and the intent and all the stuff like that has been outstanding.”
James and Trump have never been shy about trading barbs, with the 22-time NBA All-Star calling the President a “bum” in a social media post in 2017.
Their spat comes as the national anthem re-emerges as hot button issue in sports.
The WNBA’s Valkyries and Dream have garnered attention by vacating the floor ahead of the anthem during the league’s championship series, though both have maintained it was part of their pregame routine long before the best-of-seven series began Oct. 17.
