Kenny Smith could not believe LeBron James was walking around with a cigar in his hands prior to his game against the Suns.
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LeBron James didn’t exactly have the Year 19 he expected to have going into the 2021-21 NBA season. Not only did the Los Angeles Lakers miss the Playoffs but they went on to miss the play-in tourney that would’ve gotten them a chance to make the 8th seed. They were beaten by a San Antonio Spurs that is a move away from being a rebuilding team.
Of course, regardless of the situation 37 year old LeBron James was put in, he approached it with the utmost confidence. It’s is quite bewildering to see him showcase just how much he is in his prime while in his late 30s. It’s clear that the purple and gold are still in the running for winning another title barring any injuries to Anthony Davis or LeBron.
When it comes to going at it one game at a time, no one does it better than ‘The King’ himself. In fact, going up against his best friend, Chris Paul, felt like such an occasion for him that he actually entered the building with a cigar in his hand.
Kenny Smith on LeBron James holding a cigar before a game.
LeBron James casually waltzed into his game against the Phoenix Suns on December 22nd 2021 with a cigar in his left hand. This was the same team that kicked them out of the Playoffs the previous season and so this was a low-key statement game for James and the Lakers.
Seeing him take such a lax approach to it all felt a bit off to Kenny ‘The Jet’ Smith and he expressed his feelings about it on ‘Inside the NBA’ in quite the humorous way.
Despite a 34 point outing for the 4x champ, the much better team won the game with Devin Booker pouring in a light 24 points on 50% shooting from the field. Russell Westbrook did pitch in with 22 points and 10 rebounds but Talen Horton Tucker shot 1-13 that night so the Lakers losing 108-90 shouldn’t be all too shocking.
Also read: ‘Michael Jordan doesn’t play Game 7’ but LeBron James is the GOAT of Game 7s
