Lakers' LeBron James Doesn't 'Have a Response' to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's Criticism

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James told reporters that he didn't have a response to Pro Basketball Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's criticism of a COVID-19 meme he posted on Instagram last Friday.

Harrison Faigen of Silver Screen & Roll relayed remarks James made following a question from The Athletic's Bill Oram after the Lakers' 132-123 road win over the Houston Rockets on Tuesday:

The Spider-Man meme compares COVID-19 to the common cold and flu, and James posted it with the caption, "Help me out folks."

Abdul-Jabbar wrote an article on Substack in response, saying that James' use of the meme "was a blow to his worthy legacy."

He also wrote in part:

"To directly address LeBron’s confusion, no one thinks colds and the flu aren’t serious. In the 2019-2020 flu season, 400,000 people were hospitalized and 22,000 people died. In 2020, 385,428 people died of COVID-19, while so far in 2021, 423,558 have died in the U.S., for a total of 808,986 deaths. Experts agree that COVID-19 is at least 10 times more lethal than the flu. As for the common cold, death is extremely rare."

James' and Abdul-Jabbar's comments come amid a worldwide COVID-19 surge as the omicron variant continues to spread, as noted by the New York Times. The daily seven-day average on Tuesday was 267,305 cases, up from 83,365 one month prior.