LeBron James' Foot Photo Horrifies Internet

An old photo of NBA star LeBron James' foot has reemerged online and is taking the internet by storm, again.

James has been pounding the basketball court for 21 NBA seasons, and that level of impact doesn't come without repercussions. An image of the superstar's foot has popped on X (formerly Twitter), as shared by the account @CreepyOrg, and it has the internet talking. Over 2.8 million users have seen the image since it was posted on Tuesday.

The foot photo goes back to a 2013 post on Reddit, and viewers' reactions a second time around have scaled up, with many saying it looks painful and is the stuff of nightmares.

"Omg, that looks like it did hurt at some point," a sympathetic fan said.

For one viewer, it begged the question: "WTF? How can playing basketball cause that? Do all NBA players have feet like that?"

With sleepless nights ahead, another wrote: "Now I cannot sleep."

This all soon turned to jokes, with statements such as "That pinky toe is holding on for dear life" and "All that money and no toe separators?"

Another viewer quipped: "It looks like he lost his pinky toe in some accident and then just glued it back on sideways."

Jesting about James' interlocking toes, a user proclaimed: "Them toes throwing up every gang sign."

One of the harshest comments was this: "I'm gonna pretend that I did not see them crusty, dusty ass crossed toes. His feet look like they're trying to trap the funk in-between the cracks and crevices."

Newsweek has reached out to James' talent agent via email for comment.

But a lover of sports, who appreciates the physical abuse athletes must endure, said: "The price of greatness. Whilst we enjoy the game, players put their body through gruelling demand to get to the top. Enjoy them play while it last."

Another fan sympathized: "The things they go through to give us mind blowing performance. These and many more are the sacrifices they make but we only see the fun part. That's life."

Others made mention of James' greatness, writing: "That's a championship foot right there" and "This is what we call side effect of successful carrier, it's cause and effect."

Among other concerns, sports lovers questioned whether playing high-impact sports or having to wear specific shoes because of sponsorship is worth the adverse side effects, such as what happened to James' foot.