Mario Chalmers reveals LeBron James' 'trigger word' in surprising interview

On a recent episode of “The OGs” podcast, former Heat guard Mario Chalmers told hosts Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller that he recalls a specific infamous altercation he had with LeBron James on the bench, and how he used James' "trigger word" to fire him up in a game against Paul George.

During a conversation with his former teammates, he delved into various subjects, including telling stories about LeBron James, their time playing with the Miami Heat Big 3, the NBA star who called out Chalmers, their takes on the top players in the league, and Tristan Thompson's criticism of him during an appearance on Draymond Green's podcast.

Mario Chalmers said there's no beef between him and LeBron James, but it was his responsibility to call LeBron out during their team with the Heat.

On the podcast, Chalmers shared his method of firing up James, and how he refused to back down from him on multiple occasions, resulting in visible arguments and fights during games. 

“So the key matchup was him and Paul George…So we in transition, George Hill run to the corner. I run with Hill, Paul, George stop at the wing and shoot the three, and Bron like ‘Guard him.’ Okay. So that's all I say on the corner. So we get back to the bench. I'm like we losing all this b******* that we doing. We got to stop acting like b***** just play f****** basketball. Like you the best player out here. Stop being a b**** and go play. And he took offense to that. It was kind of like you just jumped at me like me.”

Haslem added, “Yeah he jumped at him. You did say he a b**** though.”

Miller added: “You asked for that.”

Chalmers ended by saying, “I didn’t call him a b**** I said stop playing like a b****. What’s my job? To get everybody going and start some shit right? So boom, there it goes and Bron went off! So I did my job. I paid for it. Got benched but did what I was supposed to do."

LeBron James’ History With His Trigger Word

Recalling issues between him and the all-time leading scorer of the NBA, Chalmers revealed a trigger word for his former teammate. However, this isn’t far the first time James has reacted strongly to an opponent calling him a b****. It seems to be the go-to insult for annoying, scrappy, hustling players like Joakim Noah, Shawn Marion, and Draymond Green.

James is making every effort this season to guide the Los Angeles Lakers toward a respectable playoff position. This objective is shared by most teams in the Western Conference, who employ various strategies to gain an advantage. In a match against the Houston Rockets, James engaged in a verbal altercation with head coach Ime Udoka, resulting in the coach's expulsion. It was only after the game that it was revealed that Udoka had used a word that triggered a negative response from the star player. 

While the game was temporarily halted, the Rockets coach did not hold back in expressing his thoughts to James. Udoka stated, "Cease complaining like individuals lacking resilience, my friend." LeBron did not appreciate this remark and expressed his disapproval to Udoka. However, the coach didn’t listen and persisted in using expletives at James, ultimately leading to his ejection.