"Don't You Ever Talk Back to the King Like That": Norman Powell Opens Up About Supposed Beef with LeBron James and Consequent Backlash

Dec 31, 2021; Los Angeles, California, USA; Portland Trail Blazers forward Norman Powell (24) is fouled by Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (6) as he drives to the basket in the first half at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

The NBA media have reported many supposed ‘beefs’ in the NBA, but perhaps none of them have been as funny as the one between Norman Powell and LeBron James. Recently, the former was invited as a guest in the 27th episode of Paul George’s podcast – ‘Podcast P with Paul George‘. When asked about his beef with the four-time NBA champion, Powell narrated how the media made a big thing out of nothing.

The incident dates back to 2017, during which time, the Cleveland Cavaliers were facing the Toronto Raptors in the second round of the Playoffs. In Game 3 of the series, Norman Powell was walking to the bench, but LeBron pulled his jersey from the back to stop him. Powell thought he was getting substituted, but the Cavaliers player pulled him back. If he didn’t, he might have been given a technical foul for illegal substitution.

Powell described the incident in the podcast where he talked about smacking James’ hand away and telling him to shout his name instead of pulling his jersey. That was the end of the supposed altercation. However, the next day, an ESPN reporter asked him about the ‘beef’ to which he replied – “Nah! I have no beef. I just thought it was disrespectful for him to pull my jersey like that. I am not his son.” 

The media took his statements and blew it out of proportion – “And they [media] ran with it. Norm says he is not LeBron’s son.” The player talked about how the headline resulted in consequent backlash by the fans – “I was getting messages on Facebook like ‘Don’t you ever talk back to the King like that.’ I was like this is crazy man. LeBron fans are crazy!”

LeBron’s performance against the Toronto Raptors

The incident happened in Game 3 of the 2017 Eastern Conference Semi-Finals. LeBron James finished the game with 35 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists. Powell, on the other hand, could manage 13 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists. The Cleveland Cavaliers would sweep the Toronto Raptors 4-0 to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.

The four-time league MVP defeated the Toronto team multiple times in the Playoffs. While playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers, LeBron faced the Raptors for three consecutive seasons between 2016-2018. On all three occasions, he would emerge victorious. Even though the Raptors were led by DeMar DeRozan and Kyle Lowry, Norman Powell was a key player for the team.