Jamie Foxx Defends LeBron James Against Critics In Passionate Social Media Rant

LeBron James is arguably the greatest basketball player in the world. However, that doesn't stop critics from speaking negatively about his play on the court.

In late February 2025, the NBA champion made headlines after he trashed the NBA media for how they cover athletes. Later, James' comments took off, causing him to double down on his thoughts with a lengthy post to X, formerly known as Twitter.

Now, in a post of his own, singer and actor Jamie Foxx rushed to the comment section of a recent Instagram post about LeBron James and defended the basketball player from the recent attacks. In his comments, he criticized the NBA before saying James has brought attention to their league for several years.

As James prepares to wrap up his 22nd season in the NBA, there should be no question about whether he's changed the league's trajectory.

At 40, the Los Angeles Lakers player is averaging nearly 25 points per game, 8.1 rebounds, 8.6 assists, and 52 percent shooting from the floor.

Even with performances like that, critics have still found a way to point out the flaws in James' game.

However, the ballers' biggest fans, such as Foxx, have had enough.

After seeing an Instagram post that featured different ways the media could criticize James, Foxx replied, defending the basketball legend.

"If he came up with a cure for cancer, they would say, yeah, but what about diabetes?" he wrote.

"40,000 points over 20 years of play carrying this bum -ss league on his shoulders," he continued. "Ungrateful."

Foxx, however, didn't finish there. He slammed the press and said they "have to mention LeBron James' name in order to get clicks."

After Foxx's comments about James went viral, NBA viewers and fans worldwide rushed to social media to share their thoughts.

"Jamie Foxx is 100% right on this," one user wrote.

Another netizen agreed and said, "Jamie Foxx has never told a lie when it comes to LeBron."

"Truth! Jamie Foxx is spot on about the constant criticism LeBron faces," a third user posted. "No matter what he achieves, there's always someone finding fault. The man's a legend; we should appreciate his greatness!"

However, not all of the comments were positive. One user told Foxx to "sit this one out," while another questioned what he was talking about.

"So, we're [going to] act like Iverson [doesn't] exist? Kobe [doesn't] exist? Tim Duncan [doesn't] exist?" they asked. "LeBron hasn't carried sh-t."

Foxx's comments about James come days after the NBA all-star made headlines for his statements about Anthony Edwards not wanting to be the face of the league.

During a press conference, Edwards told the media that he wasn't interested in being the "face" of the NBA.

"Not really," he said. "That's what they got [Victor Wembanyama] for."

James replied to his comments and called them "unfortunate" before seemingly saying he understood Edwards' position.

"Why do you want to be the face of the league when all the people that cover our game and talk about our game on a day-to-day basis sh-t on everybody?" he asked. "To have that responsibility [and dot that] ... it's just weird. It's weird energy."

Sports commentator and ESPN talk show host Stephen A. Smith, who's known for firing people up with problematic statements, heard James' comments and blasted him for spewing "BS."

"I’m gonna call it like I see it, this is straight B.S.,” he said. “I don’t appreciate what he said.”

Smith told his co-hosts that James was speaking about people like him when he referred to the media covering the league. That bothered him because nobody "supports the NBA more than me," he explained.

Smith asked, "What other show [do] you see on national television talking about the NBA more than me outside of NBA TV? Nobody!”

In a lengthy post to X, formerly Twitter, James seemingly replied to Smith, saying the talk show host "made my point."

From James' perspective, he wants to protect the "culture of basketball" and the star athletes in the NBA. He went on to say that the media should focus on the positives, including Stephen Curry's 56-point game against the Orlando Magic on February 28 and the great seasons the Oklahoma City Thunder and Cleveland Cavaliers are having.

James also acknowledged that the press should "discuss" players' inability to perform from time to time.

"Even that can be discussed in a way that’s not to bring finality to that player's game but to leave room to see how that player responds and let’s watch the journey of that player," he wrote. 

As he finished, James explained that his posts weren't about him. "At this point, I don't really care what's said about me [because] it's always something," he commented.

"This is about the impact the negativity is having on our beautiful game and our fans."