“Growing up, I always watched LeBron James, so sharing the court with him was big to me”: Nuggets rookie Bones Hayland first destroys the Lakers then reveals his admiration for King James post-match

To decimate his idol’s team when Bones Hayland got a chance to play against LeBron James would have never been the rookie’s wildest of dreams, but it came true.

The Los Angeles Lakers visited Denver to face the reigning MVP, who has a shot back to back for the best individual honor in the NBA. Just after two heavy defeats, one at the hands of one of the best teams in the NBA right now, the Memphis Grizzlies, and the other at the hands of 18-27 Sacramento Kings, the Lakers faced the Denver Nuggets in an unlikely form.

It would have been far-fetched for the LA team to try putting up a statement against the Nuggets who stood just above them at sixth in the Western Conference standings but were coming off from a 32-point victory against the Blazers before hosting the Lakers Saturday night.

Also read: “This Lakers roster ain’t even good enough to make the playoffs, LeBron James!”: Shannon Sharpe makes shocking take about his favorite team after 37-point loss vs Nuggets

Amidst an already poor season which most likely looks like it’s going to end up with Lakers outside the Playoffs spots, if they don’t change the majority of their game plans and some of its squad, not putting up any fight is the last thing any Lakers’ fan would wish for.

That’s precisely what they did against Nikola Jokic and Co who were led by a 21-year-old rookie from Virginia Commonwealth University.

LeBron James’ fan Bones Hayland destroys the Lakers

Nah’Shon “Bones” Hayland, the 26th overall pick from the 2021 NBA Draft had a career-best game against the team led by his idol. The rookie, who had 27 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals in the game, shared his thoughts after the post-match, mentioning his excitement to share the court with King James.

“Growing up, I always, you know, watched LeBron. So sharing the court with him was big to me.”

Bones Hyland (@BizzyBones11) talks about what inspired his performance against the Lakers. #Gametime pic.twitter.com/B0ibThMAzC

— NBA TV (@NBATV) January 16, 2022

LeBron James’ team didn’t just get the beating from a rookie, a former teammate of James from his Cavaliers days, and the oldest veteran of the squad, Jeff Green also scored his season-best – 26 points against the Lakers. The Joker had a 17-point triple-double to blow the opposition away by 37-points, handing them their biggest loss of the season.

Nothing is going as planned for the Purple and Gold team. While the Nuggets with one of their primary players in Jamal Murray out for the season, and no All-Star in their whole squad to support their MVP are looking a far better team than the Lakers for the Playoffs.

Also read: “LeBron James is in a class of his own”: Oscar Robertson scoffed at the idea that ‘The King’ wasn’t as good as Michael Jordan

About the author

Akash Murty

An Electrical and Electronics Engineer by degree, Akash Murty is an NBA Editor at The SportsRush. Previously a Software Engineer, Murty couldn’t keep himself away from sports, and his knack for writing and putting his opinion forward brought him to the TSR. A big Soccer enthusiast, his interest in basketball developed late, as he got access to a hoop for the first time at 17. Following this, he started watching basketball at the 2012 Olympics, which transitioned to NBA, and he became a fan of the game as he watched LeBron James dominate the league. Him being an avid learner of the game and ritually following the league for around a decade, he now writes articles ranging from throwbacks, and live game reports, to gossip. LA Lakers are his favourite basketball team, while Chelsea has his heart in football. He also likes travelling, reading fiction, and sometimes cooking.

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