LeBron James’ Former Teammate Makes Telling Cavaliers Statement Amid Game 4 Blowout

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Ashish Mathur | Last updated May 11, 2025 11:25 PM ET

During the Cleveland Cavaliers' Game 4 blowout to the Indiana Pacers on Sunday, one of LeBron James' former teammates took a shot at the No. 1 seed in the East.

James, who led the Cavaliers to the 2016 championship against the Golden State Warriors, and the Los Angeles Lakers lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves in five games in the first round of this year's playoffs.

Some thought Cleveland could win it all this year without James since Donovan Mitchell and Co. are the first seed in the East.

However, Cleveland is one loss away from being eliminated from the 2025 playoffs. James' former teammate, Dwight Howard, thought the Cavaliers were a frontrunner for the title.

Cleveland was definitely a front runner team this year
— Dwight Howard (@DwightHoward) May 12, 2025

James and Howard were teammates on the Lakers for two seasons (2019-20 and 2021-22). The NBA legends won the 2020 championship together against the Miami Heat at the Walt Disney World bubble.

Howard was recently named a finalist for the Hall of Fame Class of 2025, while James will be a first-ballot Hall of Famer once he retires from the NBA.

The leading scorer in NBA history, James can become an unrestricted free agent this offseason by declining his 2025-26 player option with the Lakers.

Not only did the Cavaliers lose Game 4, but Mitchell also hurt his left ankle and didn't play in the second half.

Game 5 of the series is on Tuesday in Cleveland. Indiana won Games 1 and 2 at Rocket Arena.

It will be intriguing to see if Mitchell plays in Game 5 and how the Cavaliers will respond after getting embarrassed in Game 4 on national television.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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