Michael Cooper Called Out For Double Standards Against LeBron James By Fans As Austin Reaves Enjoys Meal On Lakers Bench

It doesn’t take much to outrage people in today’s world. For athletes, the job is much simpler. They can be eating a bowl of fruit salad and someone, somewhere, will end up making it a subject of nationwide discussion. No, this wasn’t a hypothetical example; it actually happened with LeBron James in 2023.

During the last regular-season game for the Lakers, Austin Reaves was sitting on the bench and was seen eating something. Reaves has been one of the best players on the team for a while, and he deserved to have a meal in peace on his off day.

However, the footage of the Laker brought back memories for some fans of when LeBron was berated for eating fruit salad on the bench. During a 2023 preseason game against the Warriors, the NBA veteran was on the bench, eating fruits. Most people saw it as an athlete likely trying to get his energy up. But Lakers legend Michael Cooper saw it differently.

He felt like LeBron was being disrespectful toward the game. On Showtime with Coop, he said, “I didn’t like that. Again, he’s LeBron James, but still, you’ve got to have respect for the game, man…I don’t mind the guy eating, but go eat in the locker room, and then when you come out, you come out and be part of the team, not just sit on the end of the bench eating.”

The comment left fans scratching their heads. A future Hall of Famer refueling during a preseason game was suddenly framed as a breach of basketball decorum. But it’s common for LeBron to be targeted like this. Isiah Thomas of the Bad Boys Pistons recently went at him for practicing without his shirt.

Now, fans are wondering if Reaves will have to go through similar scrutiny since he’s been caught on camera doing what LeBron did in 2023. One fan wrote, “Michael Cooper gonna get mad at him for eating on the bench too???”

It’ll be another laughable outrage if it happens, which is why fans don’t want Cooper to see this footage. A fan wrote, “AR Better Not Let Michael Cooper See This.”

Closely monitoring and criticizing the players makes the league better. There’s no doubt about that. However, one has to be careful of the subject over which they criticize athletes because criticizing for the sake of it can hurt their reputation as well. Going against LeBron for having fruits on the bench was an absurd thing to do. Recently, the Lakers superstar shared his thoughts on the incident.

On Pat McAfee’s show, he said, “I had worked out before the game. I was on the bench, like, eating fruit…I’m literally just trying to like replenish everything I just lost in my workout in the weight room and in the back, that you didn’t see. But you’re worried about me eating a damn bowl of fruit.”

Although LeBron didn’t mention Cooper’s name, it was obvious who was the “one former Laker” he was referring to.