“Why Couldn’t You Wait Until Halftime?”: LeBron James’ Heated Exchange With Phil Handy From 2022 Resurfaces

Abhishek Dhariwal | 15/09/2024
“Why Couldn’t You Wait Until Halftime?”: LeBron James’ Heated Exchange With Phil Handy From 2022 Resurfaces

A leaked audio clip of LeBron James having a heated conversation with Lakers assistant head coach Phil Handy during a Lakers home game has surfaced online. The audio clip is from the 2021-22 NBA season only seconds before half-time. James is seen grabbing the ball after a drained free throw from a Mavs player.

With a few seconds left on the clock, Bron was looking for a full-court pass to Avery Bradley for a quick layup before halftime. However, Handy already had Bradley’s attention, as he was busy talking to him from the sidelines.

A frustrated King James saw Bradley and Handy walking down the court towards the locker room. In the end, James had to inbound the ball to Trevor Ariza who came back running to receive the pass. As James walked to the locker room, he decided to call out Handy. 

“LeBron – Hey, Phil. Hey, Phil. Why couldn’t you wait until halftime though, coach? He was wide open right now for a layup.

Handy – He was talking to me.

LeBron – Leave him f**king alone till halftime.

Handy – Don’t be coming at me like that.

LeBron – You’re always f**king with everybody, bro. Why couldn’t you wait until f**king halftime?”

As they disappear into the tunnel heading towards the locker room, the two continue to argue with one another. The video also had a fan shouting some words of encouragement to James who did not have Anthony Davis to help him out on the floor.

The comments section became divided with fans calling James a ‘Crybaby’ while others justified The King’s anger and frustration. Was LBJ in the wrong or were his complaints justified?

Post Edited By: Bhavani Singh
LeBron James

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Abhishek Dhariwal

A fan of Basketball since the late 2000s, Abhishek Dhaiwal has been covering the game for over five years. Having done his masters in Journalism and Mass Communication, Abhishek is an NBA sports journalist at The SportsRush. A fan of the San Antonio Spurs since the Tim Duncan era, Abhishek has an extensive knowledge of the sport and has covered more than 1500 articles. Having a firsthand experience of the sport, Abhishek has represented his city and state at a District and National level. And it is the same level of expertise he aims to bring while covering extensive topics both on and off the court of your favorite basketball stars.

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