LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers is facing online backlash following comments he made praising Israeli player Deni Avdija and saying he heard "great things" about Israel.
James's comments came on Sunday, prior to the NBA All-Star Game in Inglewood, California.
"I said I believe he was an All-Star,” James said of Avdija. "He’s playing exceptional basketball. So that’s that.”
James' comments then turned to Israel, saying, “If I have fans over there - I’ve never been there - 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. Hopefully someday I could make it over there. Like I said, I’ve never been over there, but I heard nothing but great things.”
Online backlash soon followed the remarks.
The online backlash
British-American commentator Mehdi Hasan responded on XTwitter, saying, “What a disgrace LeBron is,” in a repost of Al Jazeera journalist Laila Al-Arian, who had noted, "The entire human rights community: Israel is an apartheid state committing genocide and ethnic cleansing. LeBron James: 'I’ve heard great things' about Israel."
In an X repost of a video featuring LeBron's comments, American influencer Hasan Piker stated, "he said hope i inspire israel to be great (at killing children) my goat is WASHED."
Others on social media accused James of ignoring Palestinian suffering or suggested that praising Israel in any form was inappropriate amid the ongoing conflict.
Deni Avdija made history as the first Israeli to feature in an NBA All-Star Game, with his appearance at the 75th edition of the All-Star Game at the Intuit Dome marking a milestone for Israeli basketball.
"It's a dream come true," Avdija said before the tournament, holding his Team World uniform with the Israeli flag and his number 8. Avdija scored 5 points in the first game of the tournament.