Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James sat down with Pat McAfee for an episode of The Pat McAfee Show released Wednesday, and the resulting LeBronversation (as McAfee dubbed it) is a gold mine of information.
In addition to his now-viral comments claiming Giannis Antetokounmpo would have scored 250 points in a 1970s basketball game, James also took a moment to address the now infamous chocolate chip cookie story, shared late last month by his former teammate and fellow NBA legend Dwayne Wade.
Speaking on a podcast, Wade said he had a feeling James's time with the Miami Heat was coming to a close years ago when team president Pat Riley removed the forward's beloved chocolate chip cookies from team flights.
"It was too much micromanaging at that point," Wade said on The Underground Lounge. "Like you're talking about a team who went to four Finals in a row. You don't need to micromanage us. And I felt that Riles went a little too far with his micromanaging at points like that. He’s a grown man, you don't take the cookies away from us."
The Heat would later deny the story, though former team guard Mario Chalmers eventually confirmed it, too.
Well, now the tale has been vetted by James himself.
"It's a true story," James told the McAfee crew. "It wasn't like Riles was on the plane and I was about to get my cookies and Riles snatched 'em out my hand. You know how stories can become."
But "everyone knows I f------ love chocolate chip cookies. It's my biggest vice. The plane that we were getting on, the ladies on the plane were making chocolate chip cookies. They were making them and bringing them 'cause we had the same ladies all the time.
"I would get on and they already knew. They would bring me two cookies and I'd get to gambling with the guys. ... Then one flight I got on and I looked at 'em and they looked at me and I'm like, 'That look didn't look familiar.' And they were like, 'No. We're not allowed. No more cookies on these flights.' And we all know where it came from. I looked at D. Wade. D. Wade looked at me. Without even saying it, he was like 'F------ Riles has done it again.'"
Watch those full comments below:
“That cookies story is true..
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) March 26, 2025
Everybody knows I love chocolate chip cookies..
One flight I got on and there was no more cookies and we all know where it came from” 😂😂 @KingJames #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/SO3qh9yV8B
While James didn't explicitly say it was why he left to go back to Cleveland, it is funny that he confirmed the crux of Cookiegate as true.
So lesson learned, Patrick Riley. Hands off, those chocolate chips.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as LeBron James Addresses Infamous Heat Cookie Story During 'Pat McAfee' Appearance.
