National Basketball Association

LeBron James: The most hated and underappreciated player in the NBA

Updated Jun. 9, 2021 7:03 p.m. ET

Heavy is the head that wears the crown.

And in the case of LeBron James, the load doesn't appear to be lightening anytime soon.

The Los Angeles Lakers ' do-it-all superstar has been in the public eye since he was a high school phenom and burst onto the NBA scene in 2003. And under that kind of microscope, James has built up his fair share of supporters as well as detractors.

According to a social media survey recently conducted by Sports Insider, James is currently the most hated player in the NBA.

For James, the hate is nothing new. He's experienced varying levels of it during his time in the NBA, with the negativity reaching its peak after his infamous "Decision" to join the Miami Heat.

And it appears that James might be leaning into the villain role once again, given Wednesday's news that he will switch his jersey from No. 23 back to No. 6 – which he wore with the Heat – for the 2021-22 NBA season.

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On Wednesday's "Undisputed," FOX Sports NBA analyst Chris Broussard tried to pinpoint where the dislike for James might be coming from, and his thought was that LeBron's advocacy for player movement and player empowerment might have had something to do with it, once again referencing his time with the Miami Heat.

"He stands for player empowerment. When LeBron had the audacity to say, ‘I, as a player, can put together a team better than my front office,’ … and he did it, when most of the country was hating on him, that was polarizing. A lot of people don't like that. He started this trend, which is now commonplace, of players putting their teams together."

Despite the haters, LeBron is often regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, if not the greatest.

But is It possible that the disdain from fans has caused James' greatness to become underappreciated?

Hall of Famer Chris Bosh, one of James' teammates with the Heat and a member of their "Big 3," said the legendary career of James won't be fully appreciated until he steps away from the game.

"We're not going to understand and appreciate LeBron and the game until he's done playing," Bosh said. "I didn't all the way get it until he was gone. He makes it look easy."

Bosh won two championships with James and the Heat, and in their four seasons as teammates, Bosh saw James win two of his four MVP awards. So if anybody understands the greatness of James, it's Bosh.

The sentiment that James is underappreciated was shared by Shannon Sharpe on "Undisputed." He likened James' routine greatness to that of legends of the NBA's past and noted that it's easy to take greatness for granted.

"I don't think people realized just what they were watching when they had [Larry] Bird and Magic [Johnson], and then they had [Michael] Jordan. … When you sit back, once he's done, and you digest what he did in his career, I think you'll have a greater appreciation for it."

With James experiencing a first-round playoff loss for the first time in his career and looking mortal in the process, the end for him could be sooner than once imagined.

But if his latest Instagram post is any indication, don't count him out just yet.

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