President Donald Trump has called out NBA legend LeBron James over his antics during the rendition of the national anthem in the Philadelphia 76ers’ opening match of the season against defending champions, the New York Knicks, on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden.

LeBron James was seen practicing golf swings while his teammates stood at attention as the national anthem was being played before tip-off.

Donald Trump didn’t mince words on his Truth Social app as he labelled the former Miami Heat, Cleveland Cavaliers and Los Angeles forward a “total disgrace.”

“While listening to our National Anthem, LeBron James disrespects our Country! I said right from the beginning that he’s no good, a TOTAL DISGRACE. LeBron James should apologize to all of those Great American Warriors and Heroes who died for the American Flag, and all that our Country stands for!”

This isn’t the first time the four-time NBA champion has pulled off such a stunt, as he did the same on Christmas Day in 2025 while playing for the Los Angeles Lakers in a match against the Houston Rockets.

Donald Trump has not hidden his dislike for LeBron James, as he openly said Michael Jordan is a better player than James and thinks the former is probably a racist in a comment earlier this year.

“Michael Jordan is a guy that’s a friend of mine; I play golf with him. He’s a really good guy. And I think LeBron is, maybe he’s a racist, but maybe he doesn’t like Trump, I don’t know. But I only like people that like me. So, I would say Michael Jordan all the way,” the president said.

LeBron James has a documented history of showing no regard for the US national anthem.
In 2023, the four-time NBA Most Valuable Player took a seat with his daughter Zhuri during the national anthem at a USC basketball game involving his son, Bronny James.

He also pulled the stunt in 2019 when he publicly declared support for China.