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LeBron James 'refuses to pay' for one thing almost everyone uses despite being first active NBA billionaire

Home> NBA

Updated 18:00 12 May 2025 GMT+1Published 15:11 12 May 2025 GMT+1

LeBron James 'refuses to pay' for one thing almost everyone uses despite being first active NBA billionaire

Even though he's one of the most richest athletes in the world, LeBron James refuses to spend his money on the service.

Josh Lawless

Josh Lawless

LeBron James refuses to pay for a service which almost everyone uses - despite being the first active NBA player to become a billionaire.

The Los Angeles Lakers star is one of the very best ever to step onto the court, with four NBA championships to his name. The three-time Olympic gold medalist is also the highest-scorer in the history of the NBA, with 42,184 points.

It's estimated that 'King' has made around $900 million from his NBA career, turning out for Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat and the Lakers.

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But he has also raked in millions from various endorsement deals and taking equity in brands and businesses to become one of the richest athletes in the world.

According to Forbes, James has a staggering net worth of $1.2 billion and given he was born to 16-year-old single mother and moved residence a lot, he has quite rightly splashed the cash on luxuries which he worked hard for.

However, James does have exceptions to things he would pay for. In a segment with Kelly Ripa for 'Live! With Kelly!' - former Miami teammate Dwyane Wade did not hesitate in naming LeBron as "the cheapest" player he has crossed paths with.

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He said "Oh, LeBron'" before the question had even been read out fully.

LeBron James admits he refuses to pay for service even with billionaire status

That was perceived as James being a tight tipper but Wade's wife Gabrielle Union explained that James "does not mess with data roaming" when there is no WiFi, later adding that "he doesn't take his phone if he's not assured of WiFi".

James was asked about Wade's comments when the two sat down for an interview with ESPN's Rachel Nichols and joked that the claim was "so, so, so, so falsely true."

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When Wade brought up the WiFi phone rule, James confirmed that it is legitimate.

"No, I'm not doing that," James stated.

"I'm not turning on data roaming, I'm not buying no apps, I still got Pandora with commercials. I'll be listening to some great music at home and then a commercial says, 'You want to win three tickets to the Cavs game to meet LeBron, D-Wade and Kevin Love'."

When the reporter reminded James of his wealth by saying, "You know you're rich, right?", he simply replied: "I'm not paying for it!".

Featured Image Credit: Getty

Topics: Lebron James, NBA, Basketball, LA Lakers

Josh Lawless
Josh Lawless

Josh is a sports journalist who specialises in football and WWE. He has been published by Curzon Ashton FC, Late Tackle, Manchester City FC, The Mirror, Read Man City and Manchester Evening News. He provides coverage of professional wrestling and has covered two WrestleMania events for SPORTbible.

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@joshlawless_

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