LeBron James was not a happy man after officials ruled that his late clutch shot was a two, not a three. James did not hold back on his criticism when asked about the controversial call after the game against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
“I mean it’s obvious a 3, my foot is behind the line,” James said. “You can see the space between the front of my foot and the 3-point line… Stevie Wonder can see that champ.”
James said the officials on the court told him it was out of their hands and that the officials at the NBA Replay Center in Secaucus, NJ would be making the decision.
“Somebody over there eating a ham sandwich or somebody made the call,” James said.
The 39-year-old also wondered what is the point of having these replays if the officials there mess it up.
“It’s super frustrating in the sense of what the hell we got replay for? What do have replay for if even a replay gets it wrong? Who’s a part of the Replay Center? Like we got robots in there that making a test list? What’s going on? If you don’t see that, that is clear… It doesn’t make sense,” James stated.
LeBron James: “What’s the point of having replay if even the replay gets it wrong?” pic.twitter.com/gOyctVZUZH
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) December 31, 2023
I’m not sure what was the last time James was this upset after a game. For those who missed it, this was the shot that he thought had tied their game against the Timberwolves at 107.
LEBRON CUTS THE LEAD TO 1 WITH SECONDS REMAINING ‼️
Lakers-Timberwolves | Live on the NBA App
📲 https://t.co/W8EOdsTN6y pic.twitter.com/tkJYTk8eMW
— NBA (@NBA) December 31, 2023
Upon seeing the still image, James could be seen telling the officials, that there is a gap there between his foot and the three-point line.
LeBron James is showing the refs that his shot was a three and not a two 👀 pic.twitter.com/U9gGWFPzEY
— Ahn Fire Digital (@AhnFireDigital) December 31, 2023
His pleas fell on deaf ears, though, as the call on the court stood.
NBA Official Revealed Why James’ Shot Was Ruled To Be A Two-Pointer
The Pool Report interview is one that everyone looks forward to when we get a controversial call. Tony Brothers was one of the officials on the court for this one and he was asked why LeBron’s shot was ruled as a two-pointer.
The play was ruled a two-point field goal on the floor during live play,” Brothers said. “After video review, there wasn’t clear and conclusive evidence to overturn it from a two to a three, and that’s why it stood as a two-point field goal.
So, it basically came down to the original call. The Replay Center believed there wasn’t clear evidence, despite James’ claims, for them to overturn the call.
LeBron James Also Felt There Was Contact On The Last Play
The game didn’t end with that call, of course. The Los Angeles Lakers had another chance to tie the game, but LeBron failed to get a shot off. When asked about that play, James stated he felt some contact, but added the officials were never going to call it. (starts at 1:51 mark in the first video)
“There was, but they’re never gonna call it at that point,” James said. “It was close corners right there, Rudy (Gobert), me, (Anthony Edwards) right there. But there was nobody in between me and my foot and that three-point line.”
LeBron is not going to let this go for a while I think, and it was a really sour note to end his birthday with. James finished the game with 26 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals, and 1 block, as the Lakers lost 108-106. They have now dropped to 17-16 on the season.
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