LeBron fires back at Barkley

The self-described King fired back at Charles Barkley, and let his true feelings be known.

LeBron James responded to Barkley’s criticism about his demands from ownership to add players as “inappropriate” and “whiny,” hammering the Hall of Fame forward and TNT analyst.

“He’s a hater … What makes what he says credible? Because he’s on TV?” James questioned in an interview with ESPN.

“I’m not going to let him disrespect my legacy like that. I’m not the one who threw somebody through a window. I never spit on a kid. I never had unpaid debt in Las Vegas. I never said, ‘I’m not a role model.’ I never showed up to All-Star Weekend on Sunday because I was in Vegas all weekend partying.

“Screw Charles Barkley. I’m tired of biting my tongue,” James added. “There’s a new sheriff in town.”

When told of those comments, Barkley stood his ground in an interview with ESPN Radio’s “Waddle and Silvy.”

“Clearly he googled me and found out some things because I think he was young when I was playing,” Barkley said. “My initial criticism was fair and I’m good with that. … We’re never going to be friends, and that’s not a negative thing. I’m not friends with any of these guys. My job is to do my job.”

Bulls guard Dwyane Wade, James’s good friend and former teammate with the Heat, predictably took his side on Tuesday.

“Thank God he finally said something,” Wade told the Chicago Tribune. “LeBron, a lot of guys take a lot of shots at him for whatever reason. He just has kept his mouth closed and continued to focus on what he needs to. But it’s about time he said something, man. Guys ride him, especially ex-players. He’s acting like he just walks on water. And I like the fact that LeBron called him out and told him about himself a little bit. Humble yourself. LeBron is who he is. We all have flaws. But when your flaws [are] a little bit more, you should shut up.”