No matter how you feel about LeBron James, there is no arguing that he is one of the best basketball players on the planet. With incredible court vision, an elite finishing ability, and an expert understanding of the game, James is a guy who can do it all on the floor.
But it doesn’t mean that he’s perfect and the older he gets, the more mistakes James makes.
LeBron James Goes Viral After Throwing Up Ugly Airball In Loss To Blazers
Against the Trail Blazers on Sunday, LeBron went viral for probably one of the worst moments of his professional career. It was a three-pointer against the Blazers that missed so badly that it didn’t even move the net.
LEBRON FROM THE LOGO pic.twitter.com/LrrF2THRzT
— Pull up shoot (@NElGHT_) October 23, 2022
LeBron went for it.
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) October 23, 2022
https://twitter.com/julianbuchanann/status/1584279258842951681
Naturally, fans blasted James, for not only air balling the shot, but for even attempting such a shot in the first place with so much time still left on the clock. Even a Lakers team announcer couldn’t help but poke a little fun at the rare mistake from James.
“It didn’t even draw the net it was so short.”
The Lakers' announcers let LeBron have it 😅 pic.twitter.com/5aTc1jbD7K
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 23, 2022
At this stage of his career, LeBron isn’t capable of doing all the things he used to. He’s slower, older, and doesn’t have the same step he did before.
But you have to give LeBron credit for adapting his game to match his decline. Even now, he continues to find ways to stay effective, even if there are a couple of lowlights along the way.
Unfortunately for the Lakers, even the power of James isn’t enough to lift them into title contention status. Besides just not having shooters, the Lakers lack the defensive firepower to make up for it.
“If Rob Pelinka’s defense attorney were here, what he’d be saying I’m sure is, ‘Listen, we’re going to trade Russ eventually off the record. However, we’re gonna wait and see if something better than – we know (Myles) Turner and (Buddy) Hield are available. We’re gonna wait and see if something better develops.’ That doesn’t justify two straight postseasons of building out a roster as if the 3-point line didn’t exist, which is what they’ve done,” said one NBA analyst on the Lakers.
With LeBron James, the Lakers will always have a chance to compete, but they certainly haven’t made it easy for him to keep the team competitive. Besides himself and Anthony Davis, there are really no other star-caliber players on the squad, at least not any that are playing well.
And while LeBron James is having a pretty decent campaign so far, that three-point airball is closer to swimming up this season than anything else.
