Toronto Raptors coach claps back at LeBron James for disrespecting his old team

Darko Rajaković doesn't seem to care what LeBron James thinks.

At least, that's the case when it pertains to James' most recent dig at an NBA franchise.

The 41-year-old NBA legend joined Bob Does Sports earlier this week, where he revealed his thoughts about the Memphis Grizzlies.

He brought them up, relatively unprompted, as he was asked how NBA travel has impacted him as he's gotten older. James called out Milwaukee before teeing off on Memphis.

"Being in Memphis on a f***ing random ass Thursday," James said. "I'm not like the first guy to even talk about it in the NBA. We all, like, 'You guys have to move.' Just go over to Nashville. You got Vanderbilt over there, you got the f***ing NASCAR, you got a stadium. Don't they got a hockey team? Like, they've got everything."

When the hosts joked that James wouldn't be joining the Grizzlies anytime soon, he used it as an opportunity to take more jabs at the city.

"Yeah, they know," he said. "Their only chance was in 2003 if they would have won the lottery...and I might have pulled an Eli Manning and not shown up."

Not exactly sure that these are reasons why Memphis is referred to as the Home of the Blues.

Thankfully, a couple of NBA coaches rushed to the city's defence, including Rajaković.

“I don’t care what the rest of the world thinks,” he said. “I have my opinion. I love the people of Memphis."

Rajaković was an assistant coach for the Grizzlies between 2020 and 2023, before he was named head coach of the Raptors.

"I had an amazing time living here, spending time in East Memphis and Germantown. I love the food. I enjoy every visit back. I like running by the Mississippi River, and I love Shelby County. I had an amazing experience here, and I truly loved living in Memphis. That’s my perspective.”

Ironically, the Raptors were in Memphis on Thursday night, where they defeated the Grizzlies 128-96.