NBA players spend a lot of time on the road together, primarily traveling across 29 away arenas every season. In that time together, players love playing cards with each other. The LeBron James-led Miami Heat also loved playing cards on the road, with Udonis Haslem and Mario Chalmers discussing a hand of guts that Chalmers lost to LeBron once.
"We were playing guts, three-card poker. It was a ghost, I had a pair of eights going around. I am the first one to get in, everybody gets out. Everybody get out, I got a pair of eights, I'm guaranteed to win. 'Bron flipped over the first card, it's a nine. Okay, that's cool. The second card, jack. Alright, he ain't hitting. Another card, nine. Pair of nines beat a pair of eights for $45,000. I paid him two days later."
Chalmers revealed that LeBron ended up using that money to buy a truck and mock the point guard at practice.
"He bought the f***ing truck. I wanted to blow that f***ing truck up. He bought that truck and pulled up to practice, I lived across the street. This n***a pulled up and said, 'Hey you want a ride?' I'm like, 'If you don't get away from me, I will blow you and this truck up.' I was so f***ing pissed."
Haslem revealed that he told Mario to stop gambling with them later on. Chalmers said it was his way of connecting with the superstars. Regardless, Haslem was upset that Chalmers kept playing poker, with the pair laughing about Chalmers constantly owing people in the locker room money.
Mario Chalmers Claimed Players Didn't Fear LeBron James
Mario Chalmers recently stirred up a debate about modern players not fearing LeBron on the court, naming Eastern Conference opponents during LeBron's time in Miami as examples.
"I was basically saying that the players we went against didn't fear Bron like the Danny Grangers, the Luol Dengs, the Jimmy Butlers. The people that we were seeing in the playoffs? They wasn't fearing Bron because the media was killing Bron the year he came to Miami... Like all they did was talk about, 'Oh, he can't win,' 'He can't do this, he can't do that.' Then, when we lose to Dallas, and he doesn't have a good series, they're killing him even more."
Chalmers is not saying this as a slight to James. The overall context of his statements highlights that players would buy into the negative narratives about LeBron and try to punk him on the court. However, James was rarely phased, which is why he spent years dominating these players who supposedly didn't 'fear' him.
LeBron averaged 26.9 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 6.7 assists during his four-year stint in Miami, winning two titles and making four Finals. His 2012-13 season is considered one of the greatest individual seasons of all time, controversially not earning the honor of the first-ever unanimous MVP in league history.
Chalmers' had a rocky relationship with LeBron, but it's clear that he respects the all-time leading scorer for helping him become a two-time NBA Champion.
More must-reads: