“Yeah, yeah, I still got the itch to play. I got the itch, man.” Although LeBron James chose to pursue the hoop professionally, not building up his high school football career is something the 39-year-old continues to ponder. The community often catches glimpses of him enjoying the sport now as a fan, often booting up the latest version of Madden or cheering on his favorite athletes, whether they hail from the NFL or college football. But if there is one athlete who has been on Bron’s radar, it is Saquon Barkley. The Laker was amongst the first ones to send his love after the running back’s latest move.

When Eagles coach Nick Sirianni asked Saquon Barkley if he wanted to get back to the field for one more offensive possession, he generously turned down the offer. His reason: he wanted to give his younger teammates the chance to get on the field too. This act of generosity was not missed by LeBron James, who highlighted a post, providing details of the same, on his Instagram story. Along with that, the 39-year-old also added a caption alongside it, that read, “LOVE IT!!!! Selfless at its FINEST!”, accompanied by a salute emoji.

For the first time since leaving the Giants for the Eagles, Saquon Barkley made an appearance at the MetLife Stadium a few hours ago. As expected, he was a recipient of loud boos from local fans. The same, however, didn’t dissuade him from performing exceptionally as he accumulated 176 yards, just a few numbers shy of his career-high record of 189 from five years ago.

He had the chance to try to break his career-high score with another possession, but instead, he decided to put his team over himself. “It’s all good. You good, let them eat,” Barkley reportedly said to his coach. “It’s all good, I’d rather see the young boys eat.” Whether his sacrifice played a role or not, the Philadelphia Eagles did end up winning the game by a 28-3 score, bringing their record up to 4-2.

LeBron James and Saquon Barkley have, for the past couple of years, shared a bond based on mutual respect. Saquon paid tribute to the hooper back in January 2023 by donning a pair of Nike’s Zoom Generation Cleats, which bore a close resemblance to the ‘LeBron Air Zoom I’, his first signature shoe released by the billion-dollar brand back in 2003. It caught the Lakers legend’s attention, and he reacted, writing, “@saquon! That boy so COLD!!!,” on social media.

A year later, Saquon Barkley would be amongst the noted athletes who came to LeBron James’ defense. The King went viral for claiming, “The cars, the jewelry, and all the other dumb s–t don’t matter”, and that the young aspiring players of today should focus more on the game than individual wealth. While LeBron’s words only came from a good place, it didn’t help that he was handing out advice about not focusing on accumulating wealth while he is the only active billionaire in NBA history.

While words like ‘hypocrite’ started spreading around in the aftermath of the remarks, Saquon posted, “A OG having all this, and also telling young dudes that its not important bc it will all come in due time if you just stay focused & perfect your craft, doesn’t make him a hypocrite, it makes him right.” LeBron James then may have made it his priority to cheer the player on the next time he pulls out an impressive feat, at a time when not many would’ve expected it. Fortunately, it didn’t take long for that opportunity to emerge.

LeBron James motivated Saquon Barkley on Eagles debut: “SO GOOD MAN!”

After being traded to the Philadelphia Eagles in March, fans were most likely waiting to see how Saquon Barkley would adjust. When the team finally had their season debut game against the Green Bay Packers (also known as the team that Marshall Eriksen despises), Barkley did not have a good start to the matchup. Within the initial minutes, he slipped on the turf right as he received his first official carry. As a result, the Eagles turned the football over twice after receiving the first two possessions. Fortunately, things improved in the second quarter, as the 2018 Offensive Rookie of the Year held on to the football and scored his very first touchdown with the team.

While LeBron James may not have been physically present at the Arena Corinthians, he was catching the game live and was quick to congratulate Barkley after the touchdown. Taking to his official X account, he wrote “OMG SAQUON SO DAMN QUICK/FAST!!!!!!! SO GOOD MAN!” Months later, Bron continues to hold the footballer in high regard. All we can say is that it is a good thing that the Lakers star gets along well with at least one ‘Barkley.’ With the Lakers set to commence their regular season soon, it remains to be seen whether the Philly star himself will be live tweeting about the hoops game on his X account or not.