NBA star LeBron James came under fire online following remarks he made on Sunday, praising Israeli basketball player Deni Avdija and expressing positive views about Israel.
Speaking before Sunday’s NBA All-Star Game in Inglewood, California, James was asked by an Israeli reporter about Avdija, to which he responded, “I said I believe he was an All-Star. He’s playing exceptional basketball. So that’s that."
His praise for Avdija then shifted to Israel when James said, “If I have fans over there - I’ve never been there - I hope you’ve been following my career. I hope I inspire people over there to not only want to be great at sports but be better in general in life. Hopefully someday I could make it over there. Like I said, I’ve never been over there, but I heard nothing but great things."
The comments were quickly met with criticism on social media. British-American commentator Mehdi Hasan expressed his disapproval on Twitter, writing, “What a disgrace LeBron is," while reposting a message from Al Jazeera journalist Laila Al-Arian who wrote, “The entire human rights community: Israel is an apartheid state committing genocide and ethnic cleansing. LeBron James: ‘I’ve heard great things about Israel.’"
Hasan Piker, an American influencer, also criticized James, saying in a Twitter repost, “He said hope I inspire Israel to be great (at killing children). My goat is WASHED." Other social media users accused James of disregarding “Palestinian Arab suffering" and suggested that his praise for Israel was inappropriate, given the ongoing conflict in the region.
James has yet to respond to the criticism.
Avdija made history on Sunday when he became the first Israeli to play in an NBA All-Star Game.
Avdija is in his sixth NBA season and his second with the Trail Blazers. The Israeli superstar was selected ninth overall in the 2020 NBA draft by the Wizards and spent his first four NBA seasons in Washington before being traded to Portland before the start of the 2024-25 season.