LeBron James recently made headlines after hitting the showers and changing into a hoodie at halftime of the Warriors vs Lakers preseason game. The player did not do it to show that he was unhappy with the team or the game in any way. Instead, he simply had no intention of hiding that his night of work was over.
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Still, the King made his way to the bench to stand in support of his teammates, albeit while chowing down on some grub. Unfortunately for him however, this is exactly what he has come under fire for, from Lakers legend, and former teammate of Magic Johnson, Michael Cooper. And admittedly, what the legend had to say on his podcast, ‘Showtime with Coop‘ may just bother James.
LeBron James’s behavior on the bench has left Michael Cooper unhappy
The recent preseason game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Golden State Warriors was an electric one. Despite most superstars only playing only a part of this game, the intensity the two sides showed was not expected in preseason. After a long hard-fought battle between the two sides, the Warriors eventually came away with a 129-125 victory.
But, it wasn’t the victory that grabbed the biggest headlines. Instead, it was LeBron James. As mentioned previously, the King had hit the showers at halftime, and come out to the bench in casual wear and some food in his hands, during the second half.
While most found this hilarious, some were left agitated by the casual nature of James’ actions. Among this crowd was Michael Cooper, who had the following to say on his show, ‘Showtime with Coop’, as seen in NBA Central’s X (Formerly Twitter) post.
“You’ve got to have respect for the game, man… He’s over there – I don’t mind the guy eating, but go eat in the locker room, and then when you come out, you come out and be part of the team, not just sit on the end of the bench eating.”
It will be interesting to see what LeBron James’s response to these comments will be, or if there will even be a response in the first place. That said, it does seem a bit unfair to rip into James for eating while on the bench when other NBA superstars have been doing it for years themselves.
Stephen Curry, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and more have also eaten on the sidelines
Admittedly, it isn’t great that NBA superstars are sometimes seen eating on the sidelines. However, no player should receive as much flak as LeBron seems to be receiving at the moment for something so silly. Especially considering that there is significant precedent to the activity with no repercussions, as seen in the post by Sports Central.
As a Lakers legend, Michael Cooper has all the right in the world to be mad. However, times have changed since he played. The NBA is a grand old show now more than ever before. So, while it may have been a disciplinary issue to eat on the sideline in the past, now it’s just a lot closer to the norm.
