The Nikola Jokic-led Denver Nuggets team, under the coaching of Michael Malone, won the franchise its first NBA championship in its 47-year history. En route to lifting the 2023 Larry O’Brien trophy, the Nuggets swept the Lakers clean in the Western Conference Finals. It was their only sweep in the post-season. Malone and LeBron James have been getting a lot of attention on the internet since then. James’ retirement possibility being mocked by Malone recently led to fans thinking that the latter is trying to beef with The King. However, according to a Redditor, it was Vic Lombardi who started it all, and that is who James targeted in his Instagram post.
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Malone was, in fact, mad about the Lakers and LeBron’s future getting more attention than the success of his team. He even made fun of the Lakers star in an interview with Pat McAfee, by hinting at his own retirement. However, it was just a tongue-in-cheek way of getting back at the timing of James’ retirement announcement.
“It was Vic Lombardi’s ‘Lakers Daddy’ quote that got more traction”: NBA Reddit
According to a Redditor, who goes by J_Otherwise, it was the Nuggets’ broadcaster Vic Lombardi whose comment got more traction than Michael Malone’s jab at James’ retirement. And that James’ big Instagram post was for Lombardi and not Malone.
It was this veteran broadcaster who first came up with the name, “Lakers Daddy”, for Michael Malone. Take a look at the moment in the YouTube clip by ‘House of Highlights‘.
Covering Denver sports for more than 25 years, Lombardi has seen some LA teams beating his favorite team multiple times, with the Lakers doing so, 4 times in their 17 championship runs. That may be the reason why he introduced Malone as the “Lakers’ daddy” in the Nuggets’ championship parade.
On the other hand, Malone has a great relationship with James. He was an assistant coach with the Cavaliers for 5 years before James left for the Heat in 2010. So, there is no chance that James would take offense to his friendly banter. But if he did, he would use his cell phone rather than socials to answer Malone.
LeBron James might actually retire if the Lakers don’t look good enough to win a championship
There is a chance that LeBron might actually retire before the 2023-24 season starts, and that his hint after the WCF loss against Nuggets was not an attempt to take grab some attention.
As far as his goal of playing with Bronny goes, he can always make a comeback as a free agent in 2024 and join the team which drafts his son.
That way, the 20-year veteran would recharge his legs and young mind to play for a few more years. And through that, he could extend his career, and play for even longer than he currently expects.
We should remember that James also needs surgery on his foot for a ruptured tendon. So, there are more positives to his retirement (break) than his push for another championship this upcoming season. However, we will have to wait and see what he thinks is best for him.
