Who Cares What LeBron James Thinks About Israel?

Perhaps the biggest story to come out of NBA All-Star Weekend was LeBron James’ comments about Israel.

On Sunday, a reporter asked James whether he had a message for fans in Israel and how he assessed Deni Avdija, an Israeli All-Star with the Trail Blazers.

"I’ve been quoted on Deni already and what I thought about his season and I believe he’s an All-Star, and he is an All-Star," James responded.

"If I have fans in Israel, then 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. So, hopefully, someday I could make it over there. Like I said, I’ve never been over there, but I heard great things. I appreciate the question."

The comments drew swift pushback. "What a disgrace LeBron is," said former MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan.

LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers on the court during a Lakers game in 2024-Imagn Images

BET host Marc Lamont Hill reacted as well. "LeBron James just said he’s ‘heard nothing but good things’ about Israel. I’m nonplussed. Seriously. Nonplussed."

At this point, one might expect me to either defend James and Israel or condemn them with a passionate stance. Those appear to be the only two lanes available.

Here’s a better question: Why would anyone care what LeBron thinks about Israel?

James has not been to Israel, as he acknowledged. He has never seriously commented on it. He has no known association with the country. Most likely, he does not know much about it.

In fact, LeBron does not appear to know much about his own country.

The extent of his political and social analysis is usually repeating the most generic progressive talking point, just delivered with a more buffoonish tone.

In 2020, he fueled racial tensions by falsely accusing police officers of "hunting" black people. "We’re literally hunted EVERYDAY/EVERYTIME we step foot outside the comfort of our homes," he wrote.

He later posted a photo of a police officer with the caption "You’re next" because he believed the officer had killed an innocent black woman. In reality, the officer shot a woman who was attacking another woman with a knife.

Like most professional athletes, James rarely offers anything substantive to serious discussions. Most likely, he has seen debates about Israel on X and assumed his "side" supported the country. 

See, the topic of Israel is more complicated than typical culture war issues. It is not simply left versus right. Some conservative commentators strongly support Israel, others strongly oppose it. Within the Democratic Party, some members are harsh critics of the country, while others defend it.

James probably saw a social media clip of Candace Owens criticizing Israel and assumed his position should be the opposite.

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Had the reporter followed up by asking him what specifically he had heard about Israel, James likely would've responded the way he did when asked to name his favorite quote from "The Godfather."

"Too many different phrases, too many different lines," James answered about a movie he claimed he saw six times.

By all accounts, he's not very intelligent. And that's fine. He's a professional basketball player. His job is not to provide commentary on foreign nations.

The problem: media and cultural figures treat him as if he is. They are the reason James sees himself as an activist, a moral authority on all pressing issues. They helped cast him as a modern-day Muhammad Ali, despite never offering a particularly profound or courageous statement.

I advise most athletes to shut up and dribble because it's in their best interest. In the same vein, the media should stop treating them like thought leaders.

In fact, why are we asking LeBron about Israel – or anything other than basketball -- in the first place?