Getty LeBron James and Marreese Speights.
On Tuesday, retired Golden State Warriors big man Mo Speights shared a meme via Twitter that showed photos of Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan with a caption that read, “Back then, we used to celebrate threepeats.”
The post was a bit of a slight at Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, who’s fresh off winning his fourth NBA title.
The meme also said: “Now kids are out there celebrating four titles in ten tries and call it greatness.”
Just got off the phone with @Mospeights16
He clarified his post on social media.
Mo Speights shared with me:
“I’m not hating on LeBron.He’s a great player. For me to play against Kobe & Bron it’s like night and day. You gotta be respectful of Kobe & MJ’s name.”
The caption text in Speights’ tweet read: “Just the messenger…”
Twitter isn’t happy and Speights has since calibrated his Twitter page to a private account.
Mo Speights Clarifies Comments
I reached out to Speights to get clarification on his tweet. “I’m not hating on LeBron,” Speights told me by phone from China where he is currently in quarantine and preparing to play basketball.
“He’s a great player. For me to play against Kobe and LeBron it’s like night and day. You gotta be respectful of Kobe Bryant & Michael Jordan’s name.”
Speights was the Philadelphia 76ers’ No. 16 overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft by way of the University of Florida. While playing for head coach Billy Donovan, Speights won a national title in 2007 while playing alongside Gator teammates Al Horford and Joakim Noah.
“They can say whatever,” Speights told me. “But they can’t take that away from me man.”
Mo Speights’ NBA Career
Speights played 10 seasons in the NBA and averaged 7.9 points, and 4.1 rebounds during stints with the 76ers, Memphis Grizzlies, Cleveland Cavaliers, Warriors, Los Angeles Clippers, and Orlando Magic.
Teaming up with Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green, Speights won an NBA Championship with the Warriors in 2015.
Speights has always been opinionated. Appearing on the Scoop B Radio Podcast earlier this year, I asked him about the difference between Chris Paul and Steph Curry. “They always want to compete anytime of the day,” he told me.
“Practice, games they always want to compete. Steph is a little bit more laid back not too outspoken compared to Chris Paul, but Steph’s going to go out there and not talk but go out there and show. Chris Paul is going to talk and he’s going to go out there and show. Steph is like, ‘Alright cool’ I can show you better than I can tell you. You’re never going to see him get – like I told you Chris Paul is a guard that’s going to get on his teammates. Steph’s not really like that. Steph will say something to you when you go in the huddle but he’s not going to be out there on the court screaming and yelling or pointing making something look worse than what it is. But basketball-wise, they’re both going to go out there and compete and make their team better for sure.”
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Mo Speights Addresses LeBron James Critique With Kobe Bryant Praise