As if it’s not bombastic enough to call into a Los Angeles radio show and criticize Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, one caller into Travis & Sliwa on Wednesday took it a step further. According to ESPN LA listener Job in Simi Valley, the legendary James is also overly full of himself and doesn’t shoot the ball correctly.
After three minutes, the call was enough to leave Travis & Sliwa in shambles.
“I’m not into people in general who are full of themselves,” Job said of the legendary James. “You don’t call yourself the best player ever. You let other people say it. We don’t need to hear you say it.”
Wait for it… this caller almost broke @TravisRodgers 😅 @AllenSliwa
This leads us to the infamous @Corporate_Greg dilemma, do we take more calls or not? 😂 pic.twitter.com/9OW9GVZBMI
— ESPN Los Angeles (@ESPNLosAngeles) January 31, 2024
Job couldn’t even reach his original point because he derailed the segment by prefacing his hateful thoughts toward James.
The listener couldn’t leave well enough alone and also had to chime in on James’ shooting form.
“I’ve played a lot of basketball, and I’ve been around a lot of it,” Job continued. “It’s a touch he has on the ball. I’ve never liked how he shoots.”
James, of course, is the NBA’s all-time leading scorer. He has averaged 27.1 points per game over 20 seasons and is a career 35 percent three-point shooter as well as a 51 percent shooter from the field—quite the achievement for someone who doesn’t have touch on the ball.
So, who’s better than James, according to Job? That would be reigning NBA Finals MVP Nikola Jokic in year nine of his fledgling career. A better shooter? Longtime Lakers center Pau Gasol, who attempted less than half a three-pointer per game over his career.
It was all enough to get host Travis Rodgers to quip, “I think my brain shut off for a second.”
Apparently, it’s a long-running debate on Travis & Sliwa whether to take listener calls or not, and this might be the last straw to end audience engagement once and for all.
