From hero to villain in just a day. Barely 24 hours after his heroics led the Lakers to a buzzer-beating victory over the Pacers in Indianapolis, LeBron James has found himself under fire for being the biggest reason the Lakers lost to the Bulls.
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After a comfortable 16-point lead heading into the 4th quarter, the Lakers allowed the Bulls to score 44 points in the 4th, with a stunning 9-2 run in the final 10 seconds to seal the game. And LBJ had more than a little to do with letting the Bulls snatch a win from the jaws of defeat.
Even Shannon Sharpe, one of The King’s biggest supporters in the media, could not help but place the blame on his shoulders. And in all fairness, he’s justified in doing so. Not only did LeBron have an off-day at shooting, but he also committed the turnover that allowed the Bulls to take the lead with just 6 seconds left.
Additionally, his lax defense on Josh Giddey allowed the point guard to release a hail-mary from beyond the half, which broke Laker hearts as it swished in at the horn.
Sharpe took to his X account after the game to call out the future Hall-of-Famer and said, “Bron, you’ve got 2 be f***ing kidding me.”
Bron, you’ve got 2 be fcking kidding me. You gambled and gave up a 3 and turned it over that led 2 another 3. What was a 5 pt lead with 12 secs. You’re dwn with 6 secs and lose on a half court shot after Reaves puts you up 1 with 3 secs. FCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKK
— shannon sharpe (@ShannonSharpe) March 28, 2025
Sharpe’s criticism of LeBron came as a shock, but fans couldn’t help but back up the former tight end. One fan went so far as to say, “loss is 1000% Bron’s fault.”
Another seemed to think that James mentally checked out from the game after his turnover in the clutch and implied that he played poor defense on purpose to allow Giddey to take the game-winner. Replying to Sharpe’s original post, he said, “He could have made up by pressing josh up the court but I guess he already knew he sold so he didn’t give a f*ck shoot it In my face ima just put my hand up like a robot game over gg this one hurt.”
What hurts the most for Lakers fans is the nature of this loss and how it mirrored their win against the Pacers just one night earlier. Against the Pacers, the Lakers were chasing the game and managed to win it in the most unlikely fashion, off a tip-in at the buzzer.
The Bulls simply returned the favor. Despite being down at half and at the end of the 3rd period, they rallied behind a scintillating 11/14 from three in the 4th quarter to blow the Lakers away.
Even head coach JJ Redick couldn’t hide his disappointment at losing in such heartbreaking fashion. He even termed the loss a “devastation” in his post-game press conference.
For now though, he and the Lakers have to regroup and get ready to face off against the Grizzlies in a couple of days in a battle for the 4th seed in the West.
