He’s no Skip Bayless, but Stephon Marbury comes a close second. A former McD’s All-American, Marbury has become infamous for his very obvious hatred towards LeBron James. Although James hasn’t responded to these jabs, the latest interaction between the pair has many wondering if the ‘Akron Hammer’ might actually be holding a grudge against the 6’2 guard. In Paris for the summer was THE Olympian of the NBA, Carmelo Anthony.

After Team USA’s final dagger, LeBron was seen dapping Melo courtside. And who else was waiting in line to be dapped but Stephon Marbury! Just seconds before he had exchanged one of those celebratory handshakes with Stephen Curry. But if the 2x All-Star thought the NBA’s all-time scorer would extend him the same courtesy, given the jubilant occasion, Marbury was in for a rude awakening.

Not even bothering to acknowledge his presence, Bron celebrated the joy of bringing the fifth consecutive gold to the US with Anthony.

Now, here’s where it gets hilarious. Having been named the MVP of the 2024 Paris Olympics men’s basketball tournament, multiple posts popped up all over social media congratulating the ‘King’. Naturally. Marbury, for his part, commented on several of them, saying that LeBron James did not earn the prestigious honor. In fact, it should have gone to Curry for his heroics, was the 47-year-old’s stance.

One of his comments was on a video of Steph’s clutch three that sealed Team USA’s win on Instagram. “They gave the MVP to the wrong player,” the ex-Knicks player wrote, getting straight to his point. “I get LeBron is the King to many, but let me say this: when you give him what he doesn’t deserve, you basically say that because of what he’s done, he should receive such a high honor on the biggest stage. No, he didn’t earn it this time.”

It was more than enough for LeBron fans to break out trolling the man, like the video above. Of course, this isn’t Marbury’s first or second time calling the 4x champion out in public.

2022 – When ‘Starbury’ attacked LeBron James for Russell Westbrook’s struggles in the Lakers

No Purple & Gold faithful would contest that the 2021-22 season was arguably one of the worst. But for the Coney Island kid, it provided another opportunity to direct a dig at the Lakers superstar. From the firing of coach Frank Vogel, letting Alex Caruso walk, to the big experiment with Russell Westbrook – the greatest fail of them all. Many basketball pundits have claimed that it was a partnership that flamed out even before starting.

And what did Stephon Marbury have to say that? “LeBron and Davis, them guys know what Russell Westbrook was before he got here. You can’t be that smart of a basketball player and not know who you’re getting, who you’re going to be playing with. Who’s gonna make the adjustment? The best player is supposed to make the adjustments.”

Well, the whole season was everyone throwing shade at each other. So, it’s not surprising that little ‘Starbury’ would take advantage of the messy situation. But perhaps a harsher dig happened two years prior.

2020 – When Stephon Marbury belittled Bron’s tribute to the Lakers legend, the late Kobe Bryant

1996 draft teammates, Bryant and Marbury arrived in the NBA at the same time. While the ‘Black Mamba’ stamped his legacy in the world, Stephon didn’t find as much success. But he did seem to find his footing when he moved to China. Having signed with the Shanxi Loongs in 2010, the 3x CBA champion spent his time with different Chinese teams until he retired in 2018.

The incident we referred to happened after the untimely passing of Kobe in 2020. James, who was already a Laker by then, said that he would be one of the guys to carry on the Mamba’s legacy. But Stephon did not appreciate this, as he didn’t the many tributes and emotional adieus that flowed in, from people who hated Kobe prior to his death.

“I see so many people saying so many great things about Kobe and they hated Kobe,” he said in a 2020 appearance at Complex’s Load Management podcast while promoting his documentary, A Kid from Coney Island. This was for the latter section of people. The New York native had a special message for LeBron James.

“You don’t need to go get guys like LeBron to go speak and talk about what they’re going to carry and all of that … Carry your own legacy. Keep it popping and going. You not no real Laker. The real Laker fans are real laker fans. And real Laker players. So when you hear these guys saying this type of stuff and doing these type of things, I’m wondering what is it for?” Marbury questioned.

There’s no doubt that this would have hurt! On a lighter note, though, Marbury had aimed a well-calculated shot at James’ weak spot in the same year. During a live IG session, the 3x CBA All-Star pointed out a lot of faults of the ‘L Train’. And what else to make an appearance but Bron’s receding hairline?

Some of his comments were downright scandalous! Here are a few to jog your memory:

• “I know he didn’t put a rug on his head.”
• “How you gonna have a bald spot and then the next season it’s all black?”
• “I seen a dude put glue on his head. Don’t that hurt? How you take a shower?”

Yup, that should do it. Now, these are just a few of the more notable instances. But you get the idea. So, can you really blame the man for not acknowledging the perpetrator, even if a thousand cameras were focused on him? Share your thoughts in the comments.

 Before you go, do not forget to check out this crossover between BG12 and Georgia Bulldogs star Asia Avinger.