LeBron James unleashes sick burns on 'hater' Charles Barkley

King James has finally had enough.
 By 
Jacob Lauing
 on 
LeBron James unleashes sick burns on 'hater' Charles Barkley
Credit: Getty Images

TNT analyst Charles Barkley has a history of belittling LeBron James, and it seems King James has finally had enough.

The Cleveland Cavaliers superstar absolutely ripped Barkley after a loss on Monday night, just days after Barkley criticized James for complaining about his team's lack of roster depth. Barkley called him "whiny" and "inappropriate" for questioning the Cavaliers' front office.

James clearly had a lot of ill will bottled up, and he unleashed it all at once.

"He's a hater," James said on Monday, per ESPN. "What makes what he says credible? Because he's on TV?"

But boy, does it get much, much more heated than that.

"I'm not going to let him disrespect my legacy like that," James told ESPN. "I'm not the one who threw somebody through a window. I never spit on a kid. I never had unpaid debt in Las Vegas. I never said, 'I'm not a role model.' I never showed up to All-Star Weekend on Sunday because I was in Vegas all weekend partying."

SBNation did a mighty fine job breaking down each of those individual burns. But here are the spark notes, with moments from all over Barkley's Hall-of-Fame career.

In 1997, a man threw ice in Barkley's face, so he proceeded to push that man through a bar window. During a game in 1991, he spit on a young girl in the front row, instead of the heckler he meant to hit. In 2008, he almost faced felony charges for not paying a $400,000 gambling debt in Las Vegas. He repeatedly said, "I'm not a role model" in a 1993 Nike commercial.

"All I've done for my entire career is represent the NBA the right way," James continued. "Fourteen years, never got in trouble. Respected the game. Print that."

You get the idea. James had a laundry list of sick burns just waiting to be unleashed.

But how exactly did this feud begin?

Well, Barkley has been a James "hater" for a while it seems. In 2010, James held an hour-long television special, "The Decision," to announce his free agent signing with the Miami Heat. Barkley called it a "punk move."

“That was torture. I want that hour back in my life," said Barkley, who — to be fair — wasn't the only one who didn't like "The Decision."

Barkley has also consistently kept LeBron James off his list of all-time NBA greats. Barkley confirmed that decision last summer, just days after James won his third championship ring and third NBA Finals MVP award.

Dwayne Wade — who played for Miami alongside James — backed up his former teammate in a long speech to Chicago Tribune reporter K.C. Johnson.

"Sometimes, when guys get a microphone in front of their face, they just talk and talk and talk and forget about their history," Wade said. "We all make that mistake, but especially [Barkley]. He acting like he just walks on water."

"And I like the fact that LeBron called him out and told him about himself a little bit. Humble yourself. LeBron is who he is. We all have flaws. But when your flaws are a little bit more, you should shut up."

Barkley responded to James' comments on Tuesday afternoon.

Many have already questioned Barkley's skills as an analyst. Now, at long last, the best player in the NBA is questioning Barkley's entire legacy.

"I'm tired of biting my tongue," James said. "There's a new sheriff in town."

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Jacob Lauing

Jacob is Mashable's Sports Intern. He graduated from Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, where he studied journalism and served as editor-in-chief of Mustang News, Cal Poly's student newspaper. Some of Jacob's favorite activities include watching baseball, playing music and eating bagels.

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