LeBron James is not backing off from his Memphis comments. The Los Angeles Lakers star made that clear on Saturday when reporters asked about the wave of criticism that followed his remarks on the “Bob Does Sports” YouTube show earlier this week.
LeBron James Clarifies His Stance on Memphis and Pushes Back Against Criticism
James was not interested in walking anything back. “Did I say I don’t like Black people?” he said.
When a reporter pointed out that Memphis got more attention than Milwaukee did, he pushed back. “Milwaukee was, too. Did they miss that one, too?”
He then doubled down: “I’m 41 years old. There’s two cities I do not like playing in right now. That’s Milwaukee, and that’s Memphis. What is your problem with that? I don’t like going home either. Sh*t. And I’m from there.”
He also clarified that his issue was never with the people in the city. “I’m not talking about the city, like the people in Memphis,” James said. “People need to chill the hell out.”
“Did I say I don’t like Black people? … I’m 41 years old and there’s two cities I don’t like playing in right now. And that’s Milwaukee and that’s Memphis.” – LeBron James when asked about the backlash to his comments on a recent Bob Does Sports appearance pic.twitter.com/EVgCCoD1Q7
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) April 4, 2026
The controversy started on April 2 when a video was shared of the Lakers star, during a golf round with the show’s hosts, venting about in-season travel at this stage of his career. He complained about staying at a Hyatt in Milwaukee and being in Memphis “on a random a** Thursday,” then went further: “I’m not like the first guy to even talk about it in the NBA like we all are like, ‘you guys have to move.’ Just go over to Nashville.”
James also said the Grizzlies’ only chance of getting him in uniform was in 2003 if they had won the draft lottery. Even then, he joked, he “might have pulled an Eli Manning and not shown up.”
The backlash came fast. Stephen A. Smith called James out on “First Take” for making those comments casually in front of “a bunch of white dudes in a golf course” without considering the impact on a city where 63% of residents are Black. ESPN analyst David Dennis Jr. went further, labeling James “a gentrifier” and calling his behavior “unbecoming.”
Memphis Mayor Paul Young took a different approach, publicly inviting James to visit. “Come to Memphis and roll around with me for a bit,” Young wrote on X, “and I will show you some of the culture and powerful investment opportunities in our City.”
The Grizzlies’ lease at FedEx Forum runs through 2029, and NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in February that “relocation is not on the table right now.”
James is not the first NBA player to criticize Memphis. Draymond Green suggested relocation to Nashville on his podcast in March. Anthony Edwards complained about Memphis hotels earlier this year, and Green backed him up with a story about a sprinkler soaking Andrew Bogut’s belongings.
Still, when James says something, it hits differently. He knows that. But apparently, in this incident, he is fine with the attention and has no intention of changing his position.
