mobile app bar

“LeBron James was hypocritical in his criticism of the NBA”: Was the Lakers star deflecting blame on Adam Silver for his playoff losses?

Arjun Julka
Published

"LeBron James was hypocritical in his criticism of the NBA": Was the Lakers star deflecting blame on Adam Silver for his playoff losses

LeBron James recently accused the NBA of not paying heed to the health of its players. This came across as highly deceptive.

King James recently had a message for the NBA in his tweet. That stated how he had suggested the higher authorities of the league not to start the season so early as the players needed more rest.

The LA Lakers had a disappointing 2020-21 NBA season. It began with the superstar duo of Anthony Davis and LeBron James suffering major injuries that kept them out for a large amount of time.

The Lakers, who were the defending champions, found themselves in a lurch in the absence of their star players. The Los Angeles team would slip from its position in the top 4 seeds of the western conference. That led to the Lakers being part of the play-in tournament.

James was highly critical of the play-in tournament and even went on to say that whoever suggested this idea should be fired. This statement came at a time when the Lakers found themselves in the middle of this tournament.

Thus, suggesting that the 4x NBA champion was complaining about it as he found himself on the receiving end of the situation.

Also read: “Paul George went LeBron James and missed 2 clutch free throws”: Skip Bayless blasts the Clippers superstar for missing clutch free throws in a close Game 2 loss against the Suns

This is not the first time that the 17x NBA All-Star has been averse to a situation where he was the recipient of an unlikely situation.

LeBron James is passing the buck for the Lakers’ failures this year

The LA Lakers had a successful 2019-20 season, which was coupled by a victorious run in the 2020 Orlando Bubble as well. The Lakers defeated the Miami Heat in the NBA finals and were crowned 2020 NBA champions.

An interesting observation here was that James never spoke about the injuries that plagued the Heat roster during the finals. The Miami team had its star players Bam Adebayo and Goran Dragic missing important games in that series.

There is no denying that the 2021 NBA Playoffs saw a sizeable amount of injuries, with as many as 9 NBA All-Stars being declared out indefinitely. Though this does not take away anything from the current teams, who have been performing exceptionally well in the playoffs.

A recent instance had the two members of the Big 3 in the Brooklyn Nets suffering major injuries at a crucial time of the playoffs. Though the Nets still came quite close to eliminating the Milwaukee Bucks in Game seven of the semi-finals.

The 2021 NBA playoffs have proven to be the year of the young guns, while the big names of the league have had early-round exits. The likes of Trae Young, Giannis Antetkounmpo, and Devin Booker have made it their league.

Also read: “Alex Caruso arrested in Texas on marijuana charges”: LeBron James hilariously reacts to his Lakers teammate’s arrest on NBA Twitter

James’ accusations against everything else but the poor performances of his team highlight the hypocrisy. There is no denying that the injuries to a huge chunk of players in an unfortunate situation.

However, for the ones who enjoy the game, it is an interesting post-season. Since many of the teams that are playing currently have not won a championship in decades, with some not having won a title in entire franchise history.

About the author

Arjun Julka

Arjun Julka

x-iconlinkedin-icon

Arjun Julka is a NBA author at The SportsRush. Basketball isn’t just a sport for this 26-year-old, who hails from Mumbai. He began watching the sport after stumbling upon a court in his society, helping him identify an undiscovered passion for the game of hoops. Now an ardent fan, Arjun supports Stephen Curry and the Warriors but also enjoys watching Giannis Antetokounmpo own the paint. When it comes to the GOAT debate, the TSR author feels LeBron James is yet to receive a lot of his due but cannot deny marveling at Michael Jordan’s resume.

Read more from Arjun Julka

Share this article