Becoming a division rival of the Raptors might be a financial nightmare for LeBron James.
The greatest player of his generation signed with the Philadelphia 76ers last month, meaning he’ll be making multiple visits this coming season to the team’s Atlantic Division rivals in Toronto.
That’s bad news for James, a well-documented cheapskate, who recently was called out for not turning on roaming on his phone during trips north of the border.
Kevin Love, who played alongside James for four seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers, shared a story with Bleacher Report’s Taylor Rooks which went viral on social media on Wednesday.
What did Kevin Love say about LeBron’s cheapness?
In the clip, which has been viewed more than 4.4 million times in just 24 hours, Love said that during trips, James is “waiting for the Wi-Fi all the time.”
“I’ve seen it a million times in Toronto. They talk about wealth and all that. It’s the things you don’t see,” Love said. “For him, if we’re in Toronto, that drive from the airport and going through customs to then getting to our hotel, there’s no data used at all.
“He’s waiting for the Wi-Fi all the time. Then that drive from the hotel to the arena (formerly the Air Canada Centre, now Scotiabank Arena), also waits to get to the arena Wi-Fi.”
Love did laugh about the situation and said that he can appreciate James’ frugality, but quipped “it’s just roaming.”
“What’s the finance great saying? ‘A small leak can sink a great ship.’ I can appreciate it. It’s not like I’m mad at him. But c’mon bro. It’s just roaming,” Love said.
How cheap is LeBron?
This isn’t the first time that James, one of the richest athletes in history, has been called out for being cheap.
During an interview, former teammate and longtime friend Dwyane Wade said that James was “the cheapest player in the NBA.”
When asked about Wade’s statement, James laughed and responded that it was “so, so falsely true.”
“No, I’m not doing that,” LeBron added. “I’m not turning on data roaming, I’m not buying no apps, I still got Pandora with commercials.”
Pandora, a music and podcast app, later offered to gift James a premium account.
James also was among many stars that publicly declined to pay for a “blue checkmark” verified account on Twitter when the brand now known as X began to charge for the privilege in 2023.
“Welp guess my blue checkmark will be gone soon cause if you know me I ain’t paying the 5,” James posted on the app.
He has since received a verified account, though it’s unclear if he pays for it.