Did A Lakers Commentator Just Take A Shot At LeBron James?

For over two decades, LeBron James has attracted admirers and antagonists alike in the NBA community. Sometimes, those who jeer at him come from circles that are supposedly inclined to cheer for him.

This may have been the case this past Friday, when James’ Lakers took on the Indiana Pacers. During one sequence, Pacers guard T.J. McConnell got knocked down to the ground, but rose to his feet just seconds later. After this transpired, Lakers color analyst Stu Lantz made a rather interesting comment.

“I know guys in this league, they would be still lying on the floor. McConnell is up so fast ready to play, he’s a competitor,” Lantz said on-air.

What does this comment have to do with James? It’s entirely plausible that Lantz was referring to a particular moment that went down the night before.

Thursday night against the Denver Nuggets, James went in for a layup against Nikola Jokić’s defense. LBJ got the layup to go, but he went crashing into the baseline, clutched his elbow, and made it clear with his facial expression that he was in such pain.

The problem: Netizens have dissected this footage over and over again, and many of them have concluded that neither Jokić nor any other Nuggets player made contact with James. They’re in disbelief that the 22-time All-Star, who weighs around 250 pounds as per NBA.com, could have absorbed such physicality in that play to warrant that display of agony.

Lantz, of course, is far from the first individual to call out James for his reactions to physical play in the league. One of the oldest insults hurled at the Lakers superstar is “LeFlop,” supposedly a reference to his penchant for “selling” excessive contact by opponents.

Someone like Skip Bayless is 100% expected to throw verbal jabs like these at the King. James has no shortage of critics, but it’s also possible that folks who are expected to root for his cause (like, say, a local TV color commentator) have been souring on him for some time.