"I give up man" - LeBron James points fingers at NBA referees for missing gruesome foul on him
LeBron James and the LA Lakers had a commanding win against the Portland Trail Blazers in the Crypto.com arena. James had another great game, however, it seems like he is tired of the missed foul calls against him.
Midway in the third quarter, when James was driving toward the basket, Scoot Henderson tried to stop him. The play resulted in multiple cuts on LeBron’s left shoulder, as he lost the ball.
There has been no secrecy about LeBron’s frustration with how the game is officiated when it comes to him. When the LA Lakers star tried to tell the referee, the official said that he did not see the foul.
James eventually took to Instagram to slam the referees, calling them out on his IG handle. He put up an IG story on his social media handle with a picture of his scratched arm. James captioned it:
“(Referee) looked at me and said “i didn’t see a foul” man what! I give up man," James wrote on his IG story.
The scratch itself is evidence that he was touched on his arm. Such fouls are usually called by the referees in the league.
There has been no comment on the play from the league. Previously, James had also taken to social media to call out the referees for calling an apparent three-point shot that would have evened the game, a two-point shot.
LeBron James hasn’t been happy with the referees this season
Earlier, in the first week of January 2024, the LA Lakers faced the Memphis Grizzlies in a home game. Despite great performances by Lakers stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis, they fell to the Grizzlies.
During the frustrating loss against one of the worst teams in the league, James also seemed upset with how the Lakers were being officiated. The four-time NBA champion was seen fuming against the Grizzlies players and the game officials.
On one of the plays, Jaren Jackson Jr. contested one of LeBron's shots. James had a problem with the way he was being physically defended on plays. He lashed out at the Grizzlies player and said:
"Y'all need to stop fouling like a motherf*****."
He was also seen getting upset with the officials for delaying handing him the ball while he was waiting to hit the free throws. The game official was talking to Desmond Bane while LeBron waited on the line to shoot the free throws. He asked the referee to give him the "damn" ball.
Previously, in a game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, James had criticized the referees for missing an apparent game-tying three-point shot. However, the play was later ruled a two-point shot by the NBA.
Soon after that, LeBron James again called out referees on X/Twitter for a missed Jaylen Brown shot. Brown was hit in the back of his head in a game-tying shot against the Indiana Pacers. After the review, the play was called clean.