LeBron James unintentionally took revenge for his friend Kevin Love, when he hit an inbound at Kelly Olynyk.
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During the 2015 season, Kevin Love was injured by Kelly Olynyk during the playoffs.
Love was injured during Game 4 of the Cavaliers-Celtics series when Olynyk pulled at his arm while battling for a loose ball.
Love underwent surgery to repair a dislocated shoulder and a torn labrum and was out of commission for four to six months. For his actions, Olynyk received a one-game suspension from the NBA.
“That’s just not a basketball play,” Love said after the game to reporters. “The league will look into it, and it better be quick and just.”
Olynyk stated that he did not intend to injure Love. “That’s ridiculous,” Olynyk said, according to The Boston Herald. “I would never purposefully injure Kevin or anyone else. As we fought for a loose ball, he locked up my arm and I locked up his. In this league, you constantly lock up your arms.”
Love’s injury forced him to miss the rest of the playoffs as the Cleveland Cavaliers advanced to the NBA finals. The Golden State Warriors went on to defeat the Cavaliers and win the title.
LeBron James takes revenge on Kelly Olynyk for Kevin Love’s injury
During a matchup between the Heat and the Lakers, LeBron saved the ball near the baseline.
He caught the ball while falling out of bounds and tossed it off the nearest defender instinctively. Kelly Olynyk was that unfortunate soul. By tossed, I mean LeBron threw the ball as hard as he could.
Never forget when LeBron got his revenge on Olynyk for the Kevin Love injury 😅 pic.twitter.com/7i1XhzSIDB
— LeBron History 🏀 (@bronhistory) March 30, 2022
The throw struck Olynyk in the midsection, knocking him to the ground. The expression on Olynyk’s face in the moments before impact told us everything we needed to know.
LeBron was at least nice enough to help Olynyk to his feet.
It may not be sweet, but it probably put a smile on Kevin Love’s face.
