LeBron James is back in the news and in a battle with his nemesis Brett Favre for air time and Google searches on this Hump Day. Around the time news was breaking about Favre jumping on a plane back to Minnesota, GQ Magazine released their issue featuring an interview with James.

In the GQ story, James answered questions related to his recent move from Cleveland and how he landed in Miami via his ESPN prime-time special “The Decision.”

During the sit-down, LeBron also used the opportunity to slam Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert, possibly retaliating to the harsh letter of criticism Gilbert laid out the morning after his player’s departure. And he did it in LeBron fashion, letting third person comments fly.

“I don’t think he ever cared about LeBron,” James told GQ. “My mother always told me ‘You will see the light of people when they hit adversity. You’ll get a good sense of their character.’ Me and my family have seen the character of [Gilbert].”

James joined Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to form an All-Star trio on the Miami Heat and after relocating to South Beach, he told GQ that Gilbert’s behavior has motivated him more to succeed.

Gilbert’s letter if you remember described James as “narcissistic; self-promotional” and went on to call him “the self-titled former king” and accused him of quitting during the 2009 and 2010 playoffs.

James formally responded to those accusations saying: “Every night on the court I give my all, and if I’m not giving 100 percent, I criticize myself.”

The NBA star added he has “A lot of motivation” and defended going on the ESPN special to announce to the world he was leaving Cleveland for South Beach.

James also told the mag he could see himself playing again for Cleveland someday but we all know that’s as much of a longshot as me playing for them, and I’m an overweight sports nut who lives on the couch watching ESPN when I’m not writing or going to a game.

After saying how he could see himself playing in a Cavs uniform again, James shared how as a kid growing up in Akron, he and his friends hated Cleveland saying: “So we didn’t actually like Cleveland. We hated Cleveland growing up. There’s a lot of people in Cleveland we still hate to this day.”

Yes and I’m sure that feeling is very mutual nowadays.

MORE LeBron: Dan Gilbert Spanks LeBron, Literally – Sports Climax

Used with permission of the author.

Jay Donetelli is a Tampa-based freelance sportswriter and contributor to Sports Climax. With an opinion sharper than an Ovechkin skate blade with the sting of an Ali jab, Donetelli has a loyal cult of readers who have found a way to love him.

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