No longer just losing a basketball game, lebron james And this shifts The Lakers are now losing arguments with fans sitting around the crypto.com area.
James, along with teammates Trevor Ariza and Russell Westbrook, were seen cheering on the audience on Sunday as the Lakers suffered a 28-point loss to the New Orleans Pelicans.
And the exchange did not go well for the Lakers, losing 9 of their last 12 matches.
‘What do you know about basketball other than going inside the ball or not?’ James was seen asking a fan, as seen in the viral video shot by another bystander.
Of course, it was the fan who laughed last on a night where James played well (32 points), but something else was right for the Lakers. In the end, James saw enough and left the bench for the locker room with 2.5 seconds remaining.
LeBron James (pictured) and several Lakers teammates joined in on Sunday with LA fans
Trevor Ariza (center) was also sitting on the Lakers’ bench when he got into an argument with another participant at the Cyrpto.com Arena. ‘I don’t give you what the *** you are – you are now ****,’ Ariza shouted into the crowd as teammates tried to calm her down
James had seen a lot and left the bench for the locker room with 2.5 seconds left
The argument wasn’t James’ first clash with the NBA crowd this season. A pair of his fans in Indianapolis were evicted from their courtside seats in Indianapolis after they were outraged by something they said during a game against the Indiana Pacers in November.
The Lakers (27-33) are currently ranked ninth, and will likely need to avoid the Western Conference post-season play-in tournament to qualify for the playoffs in April.
Los Angeles has struggled this season after a blockbuster trade for Westbrook, a former MVP who has struggled with his shooting since joining the Lakers.
Like James, Westbrook also joined fans on Sunday and appeared in the above viral video telling one to ‘go home’ while he sat on the Lakers’ bench.
Ariza was also seated on the Lakers’ bench when she got into an argument with another participant at the Cyrpto.com Arena.
‘I don’t give you a s*** what you are – you’re a **** now,’ Ariza shouted into the crowd as teammates tried to calm her down.
Los Angeles has struggled this season after a blockbuster trade for Westbrook, a former MVP who has struggled with his shooting since joining the Lakers. Like James, Westbrook also joined fans on Sunday and appeared in the above viral video telling one to ‘go home’ while he sat on the Lakers’ bench.
Sunday’s argument was not James’ first clash with the NBA crowd this season. A pair of his fans in Indianapolis were evicted from their courtside seats in Indianapolis after they were offended by something they said during a game against the Indiana Pacers in November.
An unidentified fan is kicked off the field following an altercation involving LeBron James #6 of the Los Angeles Lakers during a game against the Indiana Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on November 24.
Westbrook addressed the conversation after the game, saying he wasn’t going to think about the negativity.
‘Nah,’ Westbrook told reporters as he thought of the comments at home. ‘take it home? Why? s***. take it home? I have three beautiful children in my house. Why would I take it home? If they boo, they can take their ass home. I’m not worried about it. It doesn’t bother me any more.’
James did not discuss his reasoning with fans, but said the Lakers have a challenging schedule ahead but only need one win to get back on the right track.
“We got a tough stretch in Dallas, with the Clippers again on Thursday, then with Golden State on Saturday,” James said. ‘And we’ve still got 10 road games this month or in March, so it’s not going to be easy for us.
‘It all starts with a win. That’s where it starts,’ he said. ‘Try to get out of this slide and win, and learn from that victory from the things you did well, the things you didn’t do so well. So it always starts with that and how can you try to get into the game-by-play situation.’
The Lakers have shot the ball particularly poorly of late, scoring just 7 for 34 from a three-point boundary in Sunday’s loss.
The Lakers’ position has been the position of center Anthony Davis, who is currently out with a leg sprain and has missed 23 games so far this year.
James smiles after falling on the court in the second half against the New Orleans Pelicans