The time when LeBron James played with a broken hand in the NBA Finals

LeBron James broke his hand out of frustration in the 2018 NBA Finals vs Golden State Warriors, because of rumored new teammate JR Smith.

LeBron James broke his hand out for frustration in the first match of the 2018 NBA finals series, after an infamous blunder by a then Cavs teammate and rumored new Lakers player, JR Smith.

What was the blunder?

The Cavs were playing in the first match of the 2018 NBA Finals again the Warriors.

At the end of regulation in Game 1 of that series, George Hill had two free throws to give the lead to the Cavs. He made the first and missed the second. Smith caught the rebound and instead of going for the bucket, he just dribbled out the clock. The score was tied at 107-107 at that time.

The Cavs would lose the game in overtime, which sparked the anger of LeBron. JR Smith was widely trolled for committing this blunder.

Also Read: LeBron James related tweet by reporter invites furious response by rumored Lakers recruit

How did LeBron break his hand?

After the match, the now Los Angeles Lakers superstar reportedly went to the locker room, punched a blackboard, and broke his right hand out of frustration.

LeBron made a statement after the incident:-
“What happened? Self-inflicted, post-game after Game 1. Very emotional, for a lot of different reasons. Understanding how important Game 1 is on the road for our ballclub, what would that have done for us. The way we played, the calls that was made throughout the course of that game, I had emotions on the game was taken away from us.”LeBron said.

“I had emotions of you just don’t get opportunities like this on the road, versus Golden State, to be able to get a Game 1. And I let the emotions get the best of me. I pretty much played the last three games with a broken hand, so that’s what it is.” he added

Even when he didn’t want to give any details, Brian Windhorst reported that LeBron had broken his right hand out of frustration due to the development and the final outcome of the game.

What happened after that:-

After that, the Cavs went to lose three straight games, which meant their third defeat against the Warriors in four years. Still, LeBron led his team to that series and they were really close to stealing that Game 1 at the Oracle Arena before JR Smith decided he had different plans.

The Warriors were ruthless. And it turned out to be James’ last series with the Cavs. The King recorded 34 points, 10 assists and 8.5 rebounds per game while shooting 52% from the field.

Also Read: Lakers superstar gets $100 million investment for media company

With JR Smith rumored to team up with LeBron again at the Lakers for restart in Orlando, Smith would be hoping such a blunder doesn’t happen again.