Basketball

‘LeBron James was going to end him’: Lakers star mouths off Heat’s Jae Crowder for slamming ball off his hands

Samir Mehdi
|PublishedOct 01, 2020

LeBron James and Jae Crowder exchange words while underneath the basket; James may have spewed profanity at Crowder.

With the intensity the NBA Finals brings to the table, things are bound to get a bit testy, even if it is early on in the series.

Both the Los Angeles Lakers and the Miami Heat are known for their gritty and ‘rough-riding’ nature, as the Lakers have hard-nosed players such as Dwight Howard, Rajon Rondo, Markieff Morris, and LeBron James.

Also read: ‘My Finals MVP Trophy for yours’- Shaq and D-Wade bet on the Heat-Lakers NBA Finals

The Heat are also loaded with players who don’t turn over too easily, with names such as Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro, Jae Crowder, and Bam Adebayo.

So it was expected that the game would divulge into a something a bit testy.

Jae Crowder and LeBron James get tangled up twice in the 1^st half.

With less than 40 seconds remaining in the first half, LeBron James goes up for a shot about a foot away from the basket when Crowder comes in divert the shot, as James misses.

As James comes down with the ball, Crowder slams it out of James’s hand which resulted in both James and Crowder getting into it, right underneath the basket.

It seemed as if ‘LeBron James was going to end Jae Crowder’ there.

According to Marc J. Spears, LeBron might have said a particular word to Jae, which may translate to, “a person of smaller physical stature.”

This isn’t the first time both of them got tangled up as earlier on in the game, both dove to the ground to recover a loose ball, and Jae seemed to hook onto James’s right arm, while on the ground.

Jae Crowder and LeBron James’s history in the league

Both Jae Crowder and LeBron James were teammates back in Cleveland in the 2017-18 season. This was however a brief stint as Jae got traded to the Utah Jazz in before the trade deadline of that season.

Crowder was also on the 2017 Boston Celtics team which the King beat in the Eastern Conference Finals.

About the author

Samir Mehdi

Samir Mehdi is a senior strategist for the NBA division at The Sportsrush. Ever since he was 13 years old, he’s been obsessed with the game of basketball. From watching Kobe Bryant’s highlights on YouTube to now, analyzing and breaking down every single game on League Pass, Samir’s passion for the game is unwavering. He's a complete basketball junkie who not only breaks down current games but also keenly watches ones from the 60s’ and 70s’ while also reading comprehensive books on the history of the league. Samir’s life revolves around basketball and he hopes that shows in his work. Aside from work, he loves to spend time in the gym and with his friends at social gatherings.