​LeBron James has been one of basketball’s most watched players for more than two decades. After eight years in Los Angeles, the 41-year-old is preparing for his 24th NBA season with Philadelphia. His career has created countless headlines, but Gilbert Arenas has offered a different view of what happens around James.Arenas’ theory may sound unusual. The discussion became even more surprising as other former players weighed in on his examples.LeBron James Gets ‘Diplomatic Immunity’ Claim From Gilbert ArenasGilbert Arenas raised the idea during an episode of Gil’s Arena. He claimed that problems involving players may receive less attention when they share a locker room with James.May 11, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) during the second half in game four of the second round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn ImagesArenas focused on how players are viewed before and after playing with James. While discussing Luka Doncic’s slimmer look this offseason, he joked about how quickly opinions about a player can change.“Like I’m saying, on Tuesday before Bron, he was fat. Wednesday afternoon, he’s skinny again,” Arenas said on Gil’s Arena.That joke soon turned into a much bigger argument. Arenas said he wanted to know why players around James seemed to avoid the same level of scrutiny he believed followed them elsewhere.“The cat’s out the bag,” Arenas said. “He’s no longer a Laker. I just want to know, why has nobody ever got in trouble when LeBron’s on the team?”Arenas did not provide evidence that James controls media coverage. His comments were a theory about how the media treats players around one of the NBA’s biggest stars.Gilbert Arenas’ Examples Do Not All Fit His TheoryThe discussion then turned to James’s former teammates. Arenas mentioned Tristan Thompson while arguing that some off-court stories received more attention after players left James’ teams.However, Thompson was involved in public stories while playing with James. In 2017, NBA.com reported on a heated exchange between them during a Cavaliers game. That example shows that stories involving James’ teammates did not always stay hidden.Nov 27, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James before action against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY SportsArenas also pointed to Kentavious Caldwell-Pope’s legal situation during the 2017-18 season. However, the timeline does not support a link to James. Caldwell-Pope was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving in March 2017 while playing for the Detroit Pistons. He later joined the Lakers and served a 25-day detention sentence during the 2017-18 season. James did not join the Lakers until the following summer.That timeline does not settle Arenas’ broader claim about media coverage. It only shows that the Caldwell-Po