U.S. President Donald Trump has criticised NBA superstar LeBron James over his conduct during the United States national anthem, calling him a “TOTAL DISGRACE” and demanding an apology after a video from the Philadelphia 76ers’ season opener against the New York Knicks went viral.
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The controversy followed Tuesday’s game at Madison Square Garden, where James, now playing for the Philadelphia 76ers, was captured on video appearing to make a golf-swing motion and later a basketball-shooting motion while singer Avery Wilson performed the national anthem.
The footage quickly circulated on social media, where some conservative commentators interpreted James’ movements as disrespectful to the anthem.
Trump joined the criticism on Thursday in a post on his Truth Social platform.
“While listening to our National Anthem, LeBron James disrespects our Country,” Trump said.
He went further, calling James a “TOTAL DISGRACE” and demanding that the NBA star apologise “to all of those Great American Warriors and Heroes who died for the American Flag, and all that our Country stands for!”
The video, however, has not established that James’ movements were intended as a political protest or deliberate insult to the national anthem, the flag or members of the U.S. military.
No statement from James establishing such an intention had been reported at the time of the controversy.
The episode has nevertheless reopened the longstanding public feud between Trump and James, whose disagreements have frequently extended beyond basketball into politics, race and national debates over athletes’ protests.
James has openly criticised Trump in the past and supported candidates who ran against him in successive presidential elections.
The tension between both men dates back several years.
In 2017, James famously described Trump as a “bum” during the controversy surrounding NBA champions visiting the White House.
Their disagreement intensified in 2018 after James criticised Trump during an interview with CNN’s Don Lemon, prompting Trump to respond by attacking the intelligence of both men.
Trump also strongly opposed NBA players kneeling during the national anthem in 2020, describing the action as disgraceful and saying he would stop watching games when players knelt.
Players involved in those demonstrations maintained that their actions were protests against racial injustice and police brutality rather than expressions of hostility towards the flag or the military.
The Trump-James feud resurfaced again in July 2026 when Trump was asked to choose between James and basketball legend Michael Jordan in the debate over the greatest NBA player.
Trump said Jordan was his friend and suggested that James might be “a racist,” before adding, “I only like people that like me.”
The latest controversy comes just months after James joined the Philadelphia 76ers following his departure from the Los Angeles Lakers.
The 41-year-old made his Philadelphia regular-season debut against the defending NBA champion New York Knicks on October 20, helping the 76ers to a 106-100 victory at Madison Square Garden.
James recorded 14 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in the victory as he began his record-extending 24th NBA season.
The national anthem controversy occurred during the pregame activities at the same season opener.
While Trump and other critics have characterised James’ movements during the anthem as disrespectful, the available footage and reporting do not by themselves establish that James was deliberately staging a protest.
The dispute therefore centres not on any publicly declared protest by James, but on competing interpretations of his conduct during the anthem and the latest chapter in his long-running political feud with Trump.
The October 20 game and James’ 76ers debut are independently confirmed, while Trump’s July comments about James are also documented.
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