Paul Reed made waves last month before the clash between the Philadelphia 76ers and the Los Angeles Lakers. Reed wildly called Anthony Davis a flopper and, unsurprisingly, that did not go down well with Lakers fans.
“I’m like, ‘What did I say? I don’t remember saying nothing crazy?’ I go check Twitter and it’s hella Lakers fans on my a**, gang,” Reed said on Out Da Mud. “I’m talking about ‘I hope your mom dies. You f***ing suck. You ain’t s***. You backing up. You a backup center.’ And I’m like ‘Damn. Bro, get off this, man.'”
Fans wishing a player’s family member dies is sadly nothing new, but Reed realizes he can’t say anything back to them. The 24-year-old then attempted to clarify what he meant to say with those comments.
“I play with Joel (Embiid), bruh,” Reed stated. “Being in the NBA, everybody knows how to draw fouls… I could have worded it differently. I think that would have helped the situation a lot better… I ain’t say he sorry. I didn’t say all that… I should have said he know how to draw fouls real well and I got to stay out of foul trouble.”
Paul Reed says he didn’t mean to call Anthony Davis a flopper
“Come on bro. I play with Joel, bruh…everybody knows how to draw fouls.”
(Via https://t.co/ZPGZEBTjz9) pic.twitter.com/HJ2l2B9qco
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) December 9, 2023
Joel Embiid certainly does know a thing or two about drawing fouls. The reigning MVP is averaging a league-leading 12.0 free throw attempts per game while Davis averages 6.7 a game, which ranks 15th.
Reed definitely should have phrased his initial comments like he did here. I’m surprised he didn’t see the backlash that was going to come his way for calling a star like Davis a flopper. Lakers head coach Darvin Ham wished Reed the best of luck following those comments, but they didn’t come back to bite the Sixers big man.
The 76ers embarrassed the Lakers when they met, blowing them out 138-94. Davis ended the game with 17 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block, and shot just five free throws. Reed, meanwhile, had 9 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 steals off the bench.
Lakers Fans And Death Threats
With the Lakers having arguably the largest fanbase in the NBA, there are inevitably going to be plenty of bad eggs among them. Sadly, it is not only opponents who end up facing their wrath with death wishes.
Nina Westbrook called out Lakers fans for sending death threats to her family when her husband, Russell, was on the team. She also claimed that she was being harassed on a daily basis over basketball games. That was in 2022 and a couple of years earlier, Danny Green said Lakers fans had sent him and his fiancee death threats.
“I hope they’re that passionate about voting, or injustice for these people who deserve justice – we’ll get some better change in the country.”
Danny Green on the fans who've made death threats against him & his fiancé after his missed shot: "I hope they're that passionate about voting, or injustice for these people who deserve justice – we'll get some better change in the country." Green calls himself "an easy target." pic.twitter.com/F68MgZnpNx
— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) October 11, 2020
Then earlier this year, Malik Beasley called out Lakers fans for upsetting comments on his son’s birthday post. The players aren’t the only ones that end up getting targeted either.
Owner Jeanie Buss revealed she had received death threats from angry Lakers fans last season. She felt she was not going to survive all the abuse she was getting online, but the team managed to turn things around eventually and it all quietened down.
You’d wish such incidents would stop, but they just won’t. There are no consequences for sending these kinds of threats and until that happens, players and even owners will keep getting them.
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