LeBron James made the headlines for an unfortunate event in the Christmas Day home clash, raising concerns all around. The 38-year-old got injured during the highly anticipated clash between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics. Amidst the seriousness of the situation, Dave Portnoy mercilessly mocked LeBron for his injury.
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Late into the second quarter of the encounter, the Lakers talisman took the responsibility of marking Celtics’ Jaylen Brown. In the process of doing so, James seemingly sustained an injury on his left leg as he went down on the floor. The situation apparently spurred from an awkward landing as the 4x champion struggled to get up. The support arrived from the team’s bench soon after as the match stopped momentarily.
Wouldn’t be Christmas Day without Lebron exaggerating an injury
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) December 25, 2023
Despite the solemnity of the scenario, LeBron was subjected to mockery from Portnoy, an avid Celtics supporter. He made fun of the 4x MVP’s reaction throughout the process, hinting at the overexaggeration of the instance. The businessman expressed his thoughts on X (formerly Twitter), stating,
“I was at the movies. I was just told Lebron died during the Celtics game. I know I’ve made fun of him in the past but I’d like to pay my respects”.
I was at the movies. I was just told Lebron died during the Celtics game. I know I’ve made fun of him in the past but I’d like to pay my respects. #riplebron pic.twitter.com/FYFMVcfo90
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) December 26, 2023
Portnoy’s reaction might have sparked from the fact that Brown too had received a hip injury during that sequence. Alongside that, his long-standing beef with the 19x All-Star might have been another reason behind his mockery. All in all, his comments only added a layer of excitement to the iconic NBA rivalry between these two franchises.
The small forward’s endeavours following the injury only added volume to Dave’s statement. Despite the visible extent of the seriousness of his injury, James played for a total of 37 minutes during the game. He contributed to a chase-down block on Jayson Tatum, only a few minutes later, raising doubts over the actual gravity behind the initial injury.
The fact cannot be denied that the 38-year-old has been appearing regularly for the Lakers this season, despite being on the team’s injury list multiple times. To add to that, before the start of the season the Lakers restricted LeBron’s game time to 28-32 minutes. But he has been averaging 34.2 minutes per game. So, an injury due to fatigue might not be surprising to many.
Eventually, Portnoy had the last laugh as the Celtics won the away clash with a scoreline of 115-126. They have cemented the top spot in the Eastern Conference with a 23-6 record right ahead of the All-Star break. As for the Lakers, their win percentage is now reduced to 51.6% in this regular season.
Dave Portnoy sticks with his stance against LeBron James
This was not the first time the 46-year-old had gone after the Ohoi-born openly. “I am the number one LeBron hater in the world,” he once famously declared on The Pat Bev Podcast. “I think I wrote in like 2014ish, ’27 reasons why LeBron James is the antichrist,'” he further added to showcase his dislikeness.
So, his reaction on Christmas Day comes across as no surprise to the followers of both NBA and LeBron. This time around, Portnoy had enough substance to go after the Lakers icon and he did not let that opportunity slip. While the Celtics worked hard on the court, their fan riled the viewers up off the court. A true NBA rivalry through and through.
