'Maybe he's a racist' - Trump critical of James

What the report says

Nile Post, carrying a BBC Sport report, said US President Donald Trump sharply criticized basketball star LeBron James during a White House news conference after being asked about James and the debate over the NBA’s greatest player. The report said Trump was responding following James’s announcement that he planned to continue his career with the Philadelphia 76ers.

Asked to choose between James and Michael Jordan, Trump backed Jordan, describing him as a friend and saying he had played golf with him. Trump then suggested James “maybe” was racist, while also saying James may simply dislike him. James had not publicly responded to the remark at the time of the report.

The article noted that James has repeatedly criticized Trump and supported Democratic presidential candidates who ran against him, including Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. It also recalled a 2017 dispute in which James insulted Trump during tensions over White House invitations for NBA championship teams.

The report framed the exchange against James’s basketball record and the long-running Jordan-versus-James comparison. It said James has won four NBA titles, earned four MVP awards, and holds NBA records for career points and games played, while Jordan won six championships with the Chicago Bulls and five MVP awards. The story matters because it links a major sports legacy debate with continuing political friction between one of the NBA’s most prominent players and Trump.