The Los Angeles Lakers managed to upset the Cleveland Cavaliers anyway, so it probably doesn’t matter that superstar forward LeBron James got away with an incredibly blatant and laughably casual travel in their game on Sunday night, but it’s still worth noting.
This is far from the first time James has been accused of taking too many steps, and it probably won’t be the last. This one was far more brazen than usual, with James just walking with the ball for several seconds following an inbounds play.
In fact, with that type of favorable treatment, it’s almost like James is already getting homecourt advantage in his much-rumored next free agency destination of Staples Center. It’s good to be King, via Twitter user @Carnage4Five:
I still can't get over LeBron getting away with this walk last night ???????????????? you see this @LakerFilmRoom @hmfaigen @LWOS_LALakers @Lakerella? pic.twitter.com/omRWn0dIvv
— 0x NBA All Star (@Carnage4Five) March 12, 2018
It’s hard to say if LeBron thought there was going to be a timeout or some other such stoppage, but players almost can’t travel that badly on accident. In the heat of the action, sure, but this is the type of stuff that makes casual fans say that NBA players travel all the time.
Again, James is far from the only player that gets the benefit of an uncalled travel every once in a while. But this is still kind of amazing, almost performance-art level of disregard for the rules. It didn’t make a difference, but it’s still pretty funny.