Despite loitering just below 40 years of age, LeBron James remains one of the top performers in the league, competing with players who grew up idolizing him.
No matter his superhuman feats, LeBron James is a human of flesh and blood and his humane nature took over on Wednesday night in the game against the Wizards. The NBA referees have been under fire for quite a while now and displeasure stemming from them leads to all sorts of troubles for the players. LeBron also ran the risk of getting into the disciplinary books with his frustrations boiling over and uttering some words that have since created ripples around the NBA world.
Leaked audio reveals LeBron James’ profane reaction during Wizards game
During the Lakers’ heated clash with the Washington Wizards, LeBron James was caught by the mics on the court abusing the game official for not calling a foul.
In the first half of Wednesday’s game, when the Lakers star was dribbling his way to the basket, he got fouled by Washington’s forward Kyle Kuzma, but the official did not call it a foul. Showing utter displeasure, the 4-time NBA champion apparently said “Call the fcking foul, btch a** n**” to the referee on the sideline.
Regardless of the incident, LeBron successfully scored the basket and chipped in 25 points, 7 rebounds, 9 assists, and 3 steals in the 125-120 victory. Given the LA franchise’s 44-33 record on the West Coast, their win was necessary to hold the play-in spot now that the regular season days are numbered.
While some players have faced consequences for abusing the referee and showing inappropriate gestures, the 20-time All-Star escaped from getting punished. Although his activity was not judged by the game officials, the NBA community went all the way to pass their judgments on the matter.
Fans left in splits over LeBron James comments
Following his NSFW rant, LeBron James was neither ejected from the game nor received any technical foul whereas, in most of the cases, players had a heavy price to pay for similar conduct. As Bron’s video went viral in the NBA social media circles, the fans were quick to address that the 39-year-old is favored in the league while the others sided with him. Here’s what the NBA fans said on X (formerly known as Twitter):
Questioning the decision to let LeBron get away by abusing the referee, a fan commented, “Ejection for every other player in the league but he doesn’t get special treatment right?”
Another fan wrote, “Wasn’t even a foul lmfao.” for which LeBron reacted.
“Lebron is a bad example for the nba, he teaches people how to be soft and cry” added a fan.
Choosing his GOAT Stephen Ai Smith, not the actual journalist but an X user, wrote “This is why Lebron is my #2. No class. Jordan respected the refs AND the game.”
Stating the current unfortunate incident of the Pelicans versus Magic game, a fan wrote “So 3 Pelican Players can get ejected with 8 seconds left but LeBron James degrade the refs and not get fined too?…..”
“Kelly Oubre got slapped with a 50,000 fine for that same kind of language towards the Refs, I guarantee Bron won’t get one!!! An that’s SAD” added another NBA fan.
Coming in support of the NBA great, a fan commented “I fully support Lebron James on this , the referee is biased”
Someone commented “LeBron is fed up with the refs and doesn’t hold back!”
Another fan in favor of LeBron wrote “Referees need to do better, unfair calls ruining the game.”
Someone added “lebron is the oldest player in the league. this man can say whatever he wants at this point. he earned it”
The LA Lakers are laying their eyes on their 18th championship trophy, that will establish their dominance over others in the league, especially the Boston Celtics who are also eyeing their 18th Larry O’Brien trophy.