Although he is no longer associated with the Los Angeles Lakers, former NBA star Markieff Morris recently spoke out about the treatment LeBron James received from fans and the organization.
Throughout the course of his illustrious NBA career, the four-time NBA champion has brought title banners to three franchises, a feat that separates him from most other NBA legends. While it has been more than half a decade, fans will remember that James won the 2020 NBA Finals MVP after carrying the Lakers past the Miami Heat.
Markieff Morris Believes LeBron James Is Being Disrespected by Laker Nation
James is undoubtedly one of the most respected players across the league and has an influence that rivals or surpasses top league officials. Be that as it may, Morris recently opined that James has been treated well enough.
Since defeating the Heat to win the 2020 NBA championship, the Lakers have managed to make it to the Western Conference Finals in 2023. However, they were swept by the Denver Nuggets and have been unable to go on deep postseason runs consistently over the past few seasons.
Morris likely believes that the team’s lack of success has contributed significantly to James being treated poorly. During a recent livestream, the former Lakers star shared his thoughts on the subject.
“Being with the Lakers last year… I felt a lot of times the respect wasn’t high enough as it should have been… Before 2020, the bubble run, way different feeling… I actually said it to him a couple times like, ‘bro, what the f*k? These n***s got you fu**d up. I’m confused.”
Morris also implied that the recent addition of Luka Dončić to the Lakers may have contributed to James being sidelined. Most importantly, the fact that the Lakers have failed to make it past the first round of the playoffs, or even qualify at times during James’ stint with the team, may have sown some seeds of disrespect.
In any case, all of this is mere noise and opinion to James and the other members of the Lakers’ lineup. After their hot start to the 2025-2026 NBA season, the team is most certainly in the hunt for a spot in the playoffs.
If the Lakers can go on a deep postseason run, potentially winning the NBA championship in the process, the respect that James has been receiving will increase drastically.
Winning another title this season will also allow James to improve his Finals record marginally and cement his position in the GOAT case against Michael Jordan. Fans are left wondering what the Lakers will be able to accomplish this season.