On the recent episode of ‘Mind the Game Pod’, LeBron James said something that caught everyone’s attention. The four-time NBA Champion claimed that the reason for the 2011 loss against the Dallas Mavericks was because he didn’t have enough “complimentary players” on the roster. Stephen A. Smith addressed that claim on his show while calling LeBron out for blatantly lying in front of the cameras.
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Smith started by saying, “LeBron James, that is some straight bullsh*t. You’ve got to be kidding me. I know that you didn’t just say that with the cameras rolling. THAT’S BULLSH*T.” It seemed like LeBron was trying to rewrite history because everyone knows that the 2011 Miami Heat were the Big 3 with enough help from the complimentary players. However, Smith did give him the excuse that the Heat roster was full of minimum players.
He said, “That roster that LeBron James is alluding to, he makes valid points. He’s not wrong about the roster.” Another reason behind Smith’s anger is that LeBron didn’t acknowledge his shortcomings during that series. The media veteran pointed out that LBJ basically ghosted during the finals.
In six games, he averaged 17.8 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 6.8 assists. In the fourth game when the Heat were leading 2-1, LeBron scored eight points in the entire game. This continued into Game 5 as well when he couldn’t score a single point in the entire fourth quarter.
LeBron James was heartbroken by the loss
Now LeBron is in a position where he is considered to be one of the greatest of all time, however, back in 2011, he wasn’t in a comfortable spot as he was still chasing his first ring. Losing the finals to the Mavs worsened it as it was his first real shot at glory. During a conversation with Showtime’s Rachel Nichols, LeBron’s ex-teammate Dwyane Wade recalled how devastated he was after the loss.
Wade said that they were standing on the balcony of their hotel when a heartbroken LeBron asked a scary question. He said,
“He said how deep do you think that is? [I said] I don’t know, eight or nine feet? He said let me see. [He] took his stuff off, jumped in the pool from the balcony. I promise you … This dude is crazy.”
That move could’ve ended up causing some serious trouble for LeBron, but he was so caught up in the aftermath of the loss that maybe it didn’t even cross his mind.
