Evan Turner calls for bubble championship trophy named after LeBron James
Former 10-year NBA veteran Evan Turner took an uncalled-for shot at LA Lakers star forward LeBron James on Twitter on Tuesday.
The NBA just unveiled its newly-designed regular season awards named after retired all-time greats such as Michael Jordan and Jerry West. This prompted producer and podcast host Eddie Gonzalez to question what award could be named after James in the future.
“What’s LeBron’s award gonna be in 2035?” Gonzalez asked.
To the surprise of many, Turner suggested that the league name any future bubble championship trophies after LeBron James.
“If we ever have a bubble championship again then that specific trophy should be named after him,” Turner tweeted.
If we ever have a bubble championship again then that specific trophy should be named after him twitter.com/bansky/status/…
Many have discredited the legitimacy of the LA Lakers’ 2020 championship, which they won in the 2020 NBA Bubble with no fans in attendance. Most argue that it wasn’t as difficult to win as the teams were playing in empty gyms, and it wasn’t an authentic playoff atmosphere. However, these claims usually come from fans of teams that fell short in the bubble. So a former NBA vet taking a similar shot at James and the Lakers is a bit strange for most fans to see.
Evan Turner last played in the NBA in the 2019-2020 season with the Atlanta Hawks, the season the Lakers won their title. Atlanta finished just 20-47 and 14th in the Eastern Conference that season. So they didn’t even qualify for the bubble playoffs.
Turner, a former No. 2 pick by Philadelphia in 2010, also averaged just 9.7 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game during his career. Despite his reasonably long career, many considered him a draft bust, given his high draft selection. He also won 0 NBA titles compared to James’ four. Naturally, social media users had some fun firing back at Turner’s tweet.
NBA fans react to Evan Turner taking a shot at LeBron James
As for the reactions to Evan Turner’s tweet mocking LeBron James, they were pretty ruthless. Most fans were just in disbelief that a role player would ever take a shot at an all-time great.
“The same Evan Turner, the guy who came into the NBA after LeBron and retired before him as well. The guy who’s [whose] career high in points scored is 34, which is one less than the amount of points LeBron scored against the Pistons TWO DAYS AGO,” one fan wrote.
@thekidet The same Evan Turner, the guy who came into the NBA after LeBron and retired before him as well. The guy who’s career high in points scored is 34, which is one less than the amount of points LeBron scored against the Pistons TWO DAYS AGO 😭
“You was always a glorified role player at best. the nerve of you to talk like you was anything more is crazy lol,” another fan said.
@thekidet you was always a glorified role player at best. the nerve of you to talk like you was anything more is crazy lol
One tweeter even posted a screenshot of Turner’s career stats.
“I know this ain’t you talking like this,” the fan captioned the photo.
@thekidet I kno this aint you talking like this https://t.co/W2i61hI2CI
Another user pointed out that Turner wore James’ shoes back in college.
“You wore his shoes and you hatin on him 😂😭,” they wrote.
@thekidet You wore his shoes and you hatin on him 😂😭 https://t.co/sthH8w4467
Multiple fans then suggested that Turner should have an award named after him relating to his draft bust status.
“And the draft bust of the year award can be named after Evan Turner.”
@thekidet And the draft bust of the year award can be named after Evan Turner
So, all things considered, Evan Turner might want to reconsider next time he has something negative to say about an NBA superstar.
Also read: Skip Bayless rips off LeBron James weighing him against Michael Jordan in GOAT debate: “That’s so not Jordanesque, choke city LeBron”
Or this: When LeBron James went dad mode after winning hard-fought game against Philadelphia 76ers: "Hopefully, I only have to say something once"