Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James has been on the wrong end of a couple controversial reviews this season that have cost his team.
Against the Minnesota Timberwolves earlier in the season, James appeared to hit a game-tying 3-pointer in the final seconds although after a review, it was ruled that his foot was on the line and changed to a 2.
Then on Saturday against the Golden State Warriors, James was trying to bring the Lakers back late after Anthony Davis went down with an injury. LeBron was in the zone offensively and hit a ridiculous corner triple to bring his team within four.
Again though, the play ended up being reviewed and they took the points off the board after concluding that James’ heel was out of bounds. When discussing the play after the game, James didn’t feel that he had stepped out.
“I didn’t believe I stepped on the line, obviously,” LeBron said. “I knew how much space I had over there and when I shoot, I shoot on my tippy toes, so it’s kind of hard to have my heel down. Probably after I shoot I was going to land, but it is what it is.”
The thing about reviews is that they typically need 100% conclusive evidence to be overturned, and it’s hard to say that is the case for either of James’ shots this season:
This season has been something else. pic.twitter.com/9bqHyB2EYd
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) March 17, 2024
With less than two minutes to play, the Lakers went from down four to down seven, being told about it after the fact. It was an unfortunate situation that James believes, along with a long stoppage for a shot clock malfunction, took all of the Lakers’ momentum in the loss.
“Oh yeah, it was good momentum. Obviously, I’ve never seen that be called before like that, in that particular time. That was kind of weird. But yeah, it took some momentum away from us,” James admitted.
With the Lakers fighting for playoff seeding, every game is extremely important. They may have lost to the Warriors anyway, but it is understandable why James and his teammates felt upset with the way things went down on Saturday night.
LeBron James unsure why Warriors’ play wasn’t reviewed
To add to the controversy, the Warriors were awarded a free shot clock reset early in the fourth quarter that the referees admitted they did not see.
Instead of a shot clock violation, the Lakers had to defend for more than 30 seconds and the Warriors ended up scoring. James did not understand why that couldn’t be reviewed while his 3-pointer could be.
“No, I think all 2s and 3s are reviewable, I believe. But at the same time, I’m not quite sure because in the third quarter Golden State had a reset of the shot clock and they scored in that possession and that wasn’t reviewable. So I don’t know, I don’t know,” James concluded.
Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? It’s the best way to watch player interviews, exclusive coverage from events, participate in live shows, and more!
