Popovich rips Ingraham, compares LeBron to 'Black Panther' superhero

Gregg Popovich thinks LeBron James is worth his weight in vibranium.

The San Antonio Spurs head coach vehemently defended James on Sunday when asked about Fox News host Laura Ingraham recently advising the Cleveland Cavaliers icon to "shut up and dribble" rather than speaking out against President Donald Trump.

"To me, when I heard about that, it was like an unbelievable show of arrogance for a talking head to try to tell someone else if they can speak, what they can speak about, when and where to do it," Popovich told reporters Sunday. "It's just ludicrous."

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Popovich, like James, has been publicly critical of Trump and his policies. The coach indicated he's proud of the basketball superstar - who came from incredibly humble beginnings - for using his platform to drive positive change and serving as an inspiration to millions of people around the world.

"He's been a brilliant example for millions of kids, especially kids of lesser opportunity who haven't had the same advantages of others. And they see in this guy somebody who's consistently exhibited excellence in the workplace. It gives them a voice, lets them know that you can speak about anything. ...

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"When you look at this guy, how many tens of millions of dollars he's given. Tens of millions of kids that see him, that are inspired by him. It's kind of like the 'Black Panther' movie. How cool is that for kids to see that and have that superhero? Well, now LeBron has been that for a long time. ... He's very, very special. We should all be proud that we have somebody like that who's willing to speak about a variety of topics, and you've listened to them all."

Unsurprisingly, James was forthright in his response to Ingraham's comments.

"But we will definitely not shut up and dribble. I will definitely not do that," he said last week.

"I mean too much to society. I mean too much to the youth. I mean too much to so many kids that feel like they don't have a way out and they need someone to help lead them out of the situation they're in."