It’s been three days since Pat McAfee interviewed LeBron James, and two days since “the LeBronversation” aired. The All-Pro punter still can’t believe it happened, especially since, as you might have noticed, McAfee is white. Taking to X on Friday morning, he expressed that sentiment in a post that seemed to come out of the blue: “Good morning beautiful people… I still can’t believe LeBron had a conversation with a white guy the other day,” the host of The Pat McAfee Show wrote.
Good morning beautiful people..
I still can’t believe LeBron had a conversation with a white guy the other day.
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) March 28, 2025
McAfee’s post appears to respond to some criticism regarding James’ decision to give a rare hour-long interview to the West Virginia product. Among those to criticize the choice was The Ringer’s Van Lathan, who wrote on X: “If LeBron is about to shit on Stephen A Smith, he shouldn’t have done it to Pat [McAfee].” While not specifically referencing the McAfee interview, Kendrick Perkins noted some of James’ media choices during Thursday’s episode of First Take, implying that his former teammate has partnered with JJ Redick and Steve Nash for his Mind the Game podcast instead of other former NBA players he has ties to, such as Draymond Green, Richard Jefferson, or Channing Frye.
If LeBron is about to shit on Stephen A Smith, he shouldn’t have done it to Pat Macafee
— Van “Not Going Anywhere” Lathan Jr (@VanLathan) March 26, 2025
Kendrick Perkins doesn’t understand why LeBron chose not to do the Mind of the Game podcast with guys like Richard Jefferson, Channing Frye, Phil Handy, or Draymond Green, and instead chose to do it with Steve Nash and JJ Redick
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@FirstTake )
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) March 27, 2025
While it’s hardly been the dominant theme to emerge from his high-profile interview with James—primarily the escalation of James’ feud with Stephen A. Smith—there has been some criticism of the 4-time NBA MVP’s platform choice. Whether it’s high-profile personalities like Lathan or lesser-known content creators, McAfee has been made aware and, unsurprisingly, isn’t biting his tongue.
