The 2020 Orlando Bubble had multiple memorable moments, especially for the Los Angeles Lakers. One of the more light-hearted incidents from their championship run occurred during the 2nd round of the playoffs. The clip of Austin Rivers being frightened of a livid LeBron James has been amusing basketball fans for the past four years and also showed up on Kyle Kuzma’s timeline recently. Getting a first-hand experience of the event, Kuzma couldn’t help but express just how hilarious it was.
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Kyle Kuzma came across a four-year-old video on his X (formerly “Twitter”) timeline. As seen in the popular video below, a furious LeBron James instilled fear in Austin Rivers for a brief moment. However, once the King realized that Rivers didn’t hit him on the head with the ball on purpose, he immediately turned to the other side. Kuzma was laughing after seeing Rivers’ life flash before his eyes. A clip of the same exchange has managed to leave Kuz in splits yet again.
This shiii was so funny lmfaoooo https://t.co/J87UY2HaUO
— kuz (@kylekuzma) June 3, 2024
It is often incorrectly claimed that “NBA players don’t fear LeBron”, especially during comparisons to Michael Jordan. While LBJ isn’t half as hostile as MJ was to his teammates and opponents, the Lakers superstar has a certain level of respect among his peers. Videos and incidents like this indicate players do not want to pick an unnecessary feud with James and be in the latter’s bad books.
NBA players talk about their fear of LeBron James
The narrative about NBA players not fearing LeBron James isn’t inaccurate. There have been multiple legends of the game who have spoken about their fear of LeBron on the record. George Hill, DeMar DeRozan, and Paul George are merely a few examples of the same.
Hill, who has played with and against James, admitted that the latter was the second scariest individual after God.
“Yeah, it’s only like one person that’s more scarier than that and that’s God,” Hill said, per NBC. “I’m sure if we’re looking at him in the face, we would be very nervous. I’m sure he can make all the plays that we want people to make.”
Long-time rivals of LeBron–Paul George and DeMar DeRozan–have also expressed similar comments as George Hill. In a podcast appearance, the two California natives disclosed that the wrath of LBJ during postseason matchups resulted in both players getting traded from their respective teams – DeRozan from the Raptors and George from the Pacers (LeBron and co. swept both teams).
DeMar DeRozan: “I think the play that sticks out to me is Game 3, my last year in Toronto, where he went full court, shot the one-legged floater, and made it. That was it, that was like the end of my time in Toronto, that was it. We was down 3-0, obviously, we lost Game 4. I was out the game and I just remember him shooting that one-legged floater and it going in and I was just like ‘s***, this is it here.’ It was it. That one haunt me for sure.”
Paul George: “I think he put me away too man. We played them first round, got whopped up and then they played y’all that second round… that was my last time in Indy. He got me up out of there, too.”
The fact that both players recollect being haunted by James is enough evidence to refute the claims that NBA players don’t fear LeBron. With the majority of his opponents–Draymond Green, Kendrick Perkins, Paul Millsap, Kevin Garnett, Mario Chalmers, and others–speaking about situations when they were terrified of LBJ, the origins of this false narrative need to be questioned.
