LeBron James 'NBA2K20' Audio Clip Contradicts His Recent China Comments

A clip from the popular video game, "NBA 2K20," which features Los Angeles Lakers star, Lebron James, is being viewed much differently following James' comments on the NBA-China controversy.

The game's "MyCareer" mode features a cutscene showing Lebron essentially giving advice to young, up and coming NBA players. "NBA 2K20" was released on September 6, but the cutscene resurfaced following James' stance on dealing with the issues between the NBA and China. NESN first highlighted the segment featuring comments from the Lakers forward.

The controversy began when Houston Rockets general manager, Daryl Morey tweeted a picture in support of the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong. The tweet which read "fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong" was quickly deleted but created a firestorm between the NBA and China.

In reaction to Morey's tweet, James spoke to reporters on Monday, in which he called Morey "misinformed." Although James declined to talk about the political unrest between the NBA and China, he did comment on how Morey's tweet affected the league.

"I don't want to get into a [verbal] feud with Daryl Morey, but I believe he wasn't educated on the situation at hand, and he spoke," said James. "And so many people could have been harmed not only financially, physically, emotionally, spiritually. So just be careful what we tweet and say, and we do, even though yes, we do have freedom of speech, but there can be a lot of negative that comes with that, too."

His comments on Monday to the media was very different from the ones featured in "NBA 2K20."

"You know, I speak for those without a voice," James says in the game. "People who grew up like I did; poor, without hope. Those people, those kids, they exist at every corner of the globe, and they're all deserving of a chance." However, it is unknown when James made the comments for the game, or if he was reading from a script. Newsweek has reached out to 2K, the publisher of "NBA2k20" for additional comment about James' role for the video game.

In the past, James has built a reputation for speaking out on social issues, which is why his decision to not take a stance on the NBA-China issue shocked some fans. In 2017, James called President Donald Trump a "bum" while defending fellow NBA player Steph Curry's decision not to visit the White House.

In 2018, on James' HBO show The Shop, he detailed his stance on speaking out on social issues. "At the end of the day, when I decided I was going to start speaking up and not giving a f*** about the backlash or if it affects me, my whole mindset was it's not about me," said James. "My popularity went down. But at the end of the day, my truth to so many different kids and so many different people was broader than me personally."

On Wednesday, James said he was taking a step back from commenting about the NBA and China.

"We're not politicians. I think it's a huge political thing, but we are leaders, and we can step up at times. But you don't feel like you should speak upon things you shouldn't have to," James told reporters.