The Los Angeles Lakers lost at home on Sunday to the Portland Trailblazers 106-104. The defeat dropped the Lakers to 0-3 on the year.
At this point in an 82-game season, that’s hardly a cause for concern.
What is a cause for concern? Lakers superstar and ostensible team leader LeBron James appears to have thrown in the towel on his teammates already.
The four-time NBA champion’s frustration was embarrassingly on display for the world to see, and it should truly silence any debates that are had when comparing the legacies of James and Michael Jordan.
You would never see “His Airness” sulking or pouting on the court. He held his teammates accountable but never publicly threw them under the bus like James has a history of doing. That lone distinction separates the boys from the men — or James from Jordan, in this case.
LeBron’s antics from just the Sunday loss alone were quite the sight to behold.
This fairly innocuous airball from James wasn’t bad body language per se, but this type of shot is akin to waving the white flag. James had 13 seconds on the shot clock to create a better shot and instead settled for a logo jumper that didn’t come close to grazing the rim:
13 on the shot clock pic.twitter.com/dg60Sxs8DQ
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) October 23, 2022
Here is LeBron reacting like a petulant teenager trying to ignore his parents after a decidedly tough pass careened off the hands of teammate Damian Jones:
already annoyed pic.twitter.com/Grs7Z5XUfE
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) October 23, 2022
And here he is just visibly throwing his teammate Russell Westbrook under the bus after a crucial possession down the stretch:
here is LeBron’s reaction to Westbrook’s decision with 30 seconds lefthttps://t.co/KATe2kYAyu pic.twitter.com/0iE0dEGwef
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) October 23, 2022
James’ whiny shoulder shrug is a far cry from Jordan’s iconic shrug.
That last shot by Lakers guard Russell Westbrook was immediately scrutinized given the timing and shot selection, and ironically enough, James claimed he didn’t want to slander Westbrook when asked about it by reporters. He apparently only felt comfortable slandering Westbrook with his on-court antics.
“I feel like this is an interview of trying to set me up to say something,” James told reporters after the game. “I can tell that you guys are in the whole Russell Westbrook category right now.
“I don’t like to lose. I hate to lose at anything. I don’t care what happens throughout the course, the course of my season or throughout the course of my career, I hate to lose, and, you know, especially, you know, the way we had this game. But give credit to Portland.”
James then launched a curious defense of his character, despite not a soul questioning it at the moment.
“You guys can write about Russ and all the things you want to try to talk about Russ, but I’m not up here to do that. I won’t do it. I’ve said it over and over. That is not my — that’s not who I am,” he said.
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Apparently who he is is a diva teammate whose grand plan to lift his teammates up this season is to pout about it.
Compare James’ sourpuss face to that of another prodigious point forward, Dallas Mavericks phenom Luka Doncic. Just look at the pure joy on Doncic’s face after he sets up his teammate for an alley-oop:
LUKA DONCIC X CHRISTIAN WOOD pic.twitter.com/cyWzLwPdBt
— Isaac Harris (@IsaacLHarris) October 23, 2022
Ironically enough, when Lakers coach Darvin Ham was asked about benching Westbrook, the first-time head coach’s answer just as easily could have been talking about James.
“We don’t have time for feelings or people being in their feelings. Like, we’re trying to turn around,” Ham told reporters, according to ESPN. “For one person to be in their feelings about when and where and how they should be in the game, I don’t have any time for that.”
Maybe LeBron should listen to his new coach. You know, before James tries to get him fired.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
