Maverick Carter, the longtime friend and business partner of LeBron James, asked Golden State Warriors forward Draymond Green a simple question during HBO's "The Shop" and the answer might surprise you. It was just one of many wow moments in the show's debut.
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"Can LeBron ever come out and say, 'I'm the best basketball player playing?'" Carter proposed to Green.
What came next is an answer full of truth and insight into what Green thinks of James after the two battled in four-straight NBA Finals before the superstar forward left the Cleveland Cavaliers for the Los Angeles Lakers this summer.
Whoa. James has always been a star, a player incapable of escaping the limelight, and a great often compared to Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan, even at an early age.
Green's take on when LeBron actually became LeBron is fascinating.
"I think you should say that. I think you should believe that. And you should definitely let the world know that. I think Bron over the last four years became LeBron James. And it wasn't nothing to do with winning and it wasn't nothing to do with stats. He found himself. People didn't start to view him as they view him now, until he became that force, that man to say, 'I'm here.' I feel like for years, he shied away from saying 'I'm here'. And when he started to say, 'F**k y'all, I'm here.' That's when he became who he is, and no one would have ever said that until he did it himself.
"Motherf**kers f**ked with Mike because Mike was like, 'I'm Mike with my hoop earring. F**k all y'all, I'm here.' And until he did that, that's when he became the figurehead that he is. So many people shy away from that and that's why they never reach their full potential."
The Shop is produced by Carter and James, and had special guests such as Green, Jon Stewart, Odell Beckham Jr., Candace Parker, and Snoop Dogg, among others, speak openly in a barbershop about topics ranging from sports to family to race to politics to everyday life.
It was one of the most real, unfiltered sides of professional athletes, especially James, and there is no doubt the next seven episodes will spark even more conversations about The King and other hot-button issues along the way.
