Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James. Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports

Twitter checkmark saga latest indication of LeBron’s glorious cheapness

LeBron James won’t pay for Twitter Blue. That’s because he doesn’t pay for anything.

James won’t pay to maintain his blue checkmark, which are slated to gradually expire for “legacy” blue checks who don’t pay for Elon Musk’s “Twitter Blue” service.

But that’s not a protest against Musk, or the new service, as much as it is simply in line with what James has always done: Not pay for things on his phone.

Like commercial-free streaming music.

Former teammate Dwyane Wade once called him “the cheapest player in the NBA” in an interview with Rachel Nichols.

James admitted to his aversion to paying for premium apps or roaming data when he travels, preferring to wait until he gets to a place with free wi-fi. This is a man who has made over $400M in NBA salaries alone, but he’s still jumping on the Starbucks wi-fi to check his email, which we assume is on a free Hotmail account.

In the movie “Trainwreck,” James lampooned his own cheapness, insisting on splitting a bill with Bill Hader and telling him, "Don't look at me different now that I've got a little money."

Even after learning that James' account was one of a select few on a secret VIP list won't change his opinion. Or perhaps he's waiting them out.

When Pandora learned James was still listening to ads, they gave him a Premium account for free.

Your move, Elon Musk.

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