LeBron James has faced a lot of stiff challenges in his career but withstanding trash-talk from a little kid sitting courtside isn’t one of them. A kid during the Lakers vs. Magic game was trying to instigate James from courtside, telling the NBA’s all-time leading scorer to stop flopping while also saying that LeBron ‘sharted’ in his white Lakers shorts.
“Stop flopping. You look like you sharted your pants.”
Little kid goes after LeBron for flopping
“You look like you sharted your pants”
(h/t @overtime )
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) November 7, 2023
Moments like this in basketball are really fun to watch. It’s unclear if James could hear what the kid was saying, but it. did seem like a smile was peaking through his face when the kid made the comment about sharting.
This is tame trash talk but really funny when you think about the fact that one of the greatest players of all time is subjected to such juvenile comments.
Does LeBron James Need To Flop?
What led to the child tearing into LeBron was his flopping, a criticism that has long been a part of LeBron’s career. Given his frame and strength, it’s highly unlikely that James is getting affected by half the contact he faces during a game. As he’s aged, he’s clearly lost a step and gets more frustrated than ever now when he doesn’t get his calls. This inherently leads to flopping.
James went off on refereeing during the Lakers’ loss to the Heat, with the Lakers’ star only shooting four free throws during the game.
“The game isn’t won or lost in the last 2 mins! If you know the game things happen throughout the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and first 10 mins of 4th that has a major impact on outcomes.”
If James doesn’t flop and sell contact, referees often just ignore it, something he’s discussed before. The early season has been proof, as in games where James has been a little more prone to selling contact and flopping, he has shot more free throws. When he doesn’t do so, he shoots far fewer free throws.
We can argue the merits and demerits of players like LeBron flopping compared to a small guard like Trae Young, but it all comes down to more consistency in officiating. The NBA is relatively lenient with allowing their referees to make mistakes and not face severe consequences. The protection of these referees has ultimately gotten to a point where public criticism of them leads to fines for players and coaches.
This flopping criticism doesn’t apply to just LeBron. Many high-level players get fouled a lot due to their impact on the game, but it isn’t interesting to see them consistently shoot free throws. Luka Doncic is an example, with the Mavericks star getting into verbal altercations with referees over missed foul calls, which leads to the Slovenian guard overselling contact at times.
The referees have been given the power to penalize players for flopping this season, so it’ll be interesting to see if James gets a technical foul for over-selling contact. James hasn’t had many egregious flopping incidents to start the season, but it’s bound to happen because the Lakers star is going to try and get more calls for himself going forward.
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