Shumpert: LeBron 'ruined basketball' when he signed with Heat

LeBron James' move to take his talents to South Beach was bad for the sport, according to the King's former teammate. Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports

Iman Shumpert: LeBron James 'ruined basketball' when he signed with Heat

Originally posted on Game 7 | By Charles Kruger | Last updated 12/21/21

LeBron James is widely regarded as one of the greatest basketball players of all time. Some believe he’s the best, others have him at No. 2 and a select few have him further down the list.

But no matter what, his impact on the sport is beyond reproach. That said, not everyone feels like the effect has been entirely positive.

During a recent interview, James’ former Cleveland Cavaliers teammate Iman Shumpert went into great detail about how he feels James ruined the NBA.

“Bron ruined basketball,” Shumpert said of James’ decision to join the Miami Heat.

“He thought he was making it better, I get him. Me personally, I love the NBA for the loyalty that I thought was there. He basically knocked the fourth wall down like the organization they bullsh*tting, we doing what we want. Great business move for sure, but when you think about it outside looking in like, I got people tweeting me right now.

“They like literally talking about owners and trades, it’s like bro y’all aren’t supposed to be talking about none of this actually.”

Shumpert always has a way of analyzing the sport of basketball in a way few others can. His infamous retelling of his classic showdown with Kobe Bryant illustrated that perfectly.

As far as his larger point about James, opinions will vary. Some will agree, others not so much.

Either way, there’s no going back. James definitely changed the NBA forever. Whether it was for better or worse is a matter of personal opinion.

This article first appeared on Game 7 and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: