LeBron James on the Lakers’ final inbounds play to Luka Doncic: “I’m not sure. Obviously you’ll have to ask Luka what he saw on that. I thought he had a good look… I was kinda off balance when he gave it to me. I thought he had a great look”
I mean, he’s not wrong lol
I thought he had a good look…
He caught it 30 feet from the basket down 1 with 6 seconds left - I think he thought maybe there’s a better shot, you don’t need a three. With 5 seconds left there are three lakers within 2 feet of each other, and they’re overloading on the left side with NO spacing. Talk to JJ if you’re gonna talk to anyone.
That’s what I’m saying. Luka fucked up no doubt, but why the hell was the play for Luka to take an inefficient 3 when he was shooting poorly and had a swollen eye? Especially when they only needed 2 points. The plan should have been to get Ayton open for the high percentage 2, he had such a height advantage and was doing great that game
The play was to put the ball in your best players hands and trust him. There’s not a soul that would have questioned if Luka shot the open 3, and it’s silly to blame JJ for putting the ball in a top 5-7 player’s hand when there was a wide open look.
If your argument is that they should have run a play for Ayton, you’re losing the plot. Had they done that and he missed the shot or fumbled a pass, everyone in here would be asking why Ayton is getting a game winning look over LeBron or Luka.
Things didn’t work out, but end of the day you trust your talent. Arguably the only top team that really strayed from this strategy was the prime Warriors, who frequently used Steph’s gravity and off ball movement to generate shots without him just being tossed the ball to cook.
How is asking for a better shot losing the plot? I swear y’all think this is a basketball anime or something where star players get a boost to shooting percentages because it matters for the plot. Luka most likely would have missed that shot either way, let’s be honest, and people would’ve still talked shit about him. Which would be fine if the Lakers were down 3, but they weren’t, they were down 1, so it makes no sense to go for the objectively harder shot to make when drawing up the play. Maybe something happens that forces Luka to shoot a 3 anyway, that’s certainly a possibility, but after a whole timeout, the plan from JJ should have been better than pass it to Luka and pray
I mean, if it was me? Hesi pull right in a motherfuckers face. Stone cold killer shit. Micheal Jeffrey Jordan shit.
Lmao can we spread the floor and get him catching off movement or straight shot a pick and roll or something? Anything???
I agree you trust your talent. Then LeBron shouldn’t be throwing his teammate under the bus, as usual.
How’s this considered throwing your teammate under the bus??
and had a swollen eye
They were hoping he’d see three baskets.
Crazy that was May of 2021
Luka will get criticized no matter what lol. If he took that shot and missed, people will say he should’ve taken it closer as he was 2⁄10 prior or it was a stupid shot.
I don’t think he would’ve gotten much shit for taking it because he always hits those and he was wide open.
Ah, yes. I expect the most logical and smart reactions from the most reasonable fans in the world.
That’s the thing. The play should be to free either Ayton or Reaves, but for some reasons JJ set a Luka ball.
Just look at that great screen by Ayton. It was all for Luka. Luka fucked up badly, but JJ have claimed he really went to set a Luka play.
simliar situation happened with poole on the warriors against the lakers of all teams a few years back and some people tried to kill him for it. imo its a lose lose situation (unless you make it of course)
Man this is the 2nd time this year Luka passed up a shot in a similar situation. He shoots that shot all the time, either let your fuckin nuts hang or get out the way
Is this Luka’s burner account?
That was kinda same criticism others made to Bron earlier in his career, than proceed blaming role players for choking important shots… don’t know, this doesn’t pass the sniff test to me.
this guy luka said he felt he was too far out when he shoots that shot like 5 times a night
I genuinely think luka wasnt comfortable with that shot cause their wasnt a defender on him. The contact gives him confidence as he shoots. If he misses its because of the contact, or he will get the bailout whistle.
Are you saying he didn’t like the shot coz he was too wide open?
It’s a weird phenomena with most guys. They’re used to having someone on them or heavily contesting, so being wide open for a second can throw off their rhythm, even to superstars.
I mean, it is true that Luka makes the harder contested shots more than the open ones for some reason. Like the only two 3’s he made that game were an off balance contested shot and a contested shot right at the buzzer. I very much doubt he thought that in the moment though
The excuses I hear for Luka are the most absurd crap I’ve heard in my life
It’s not an excuse, it’s an explanation. Even if it’s true it’s still Luka’s fault. It just doesn’t make any sense otherwise.
Luka had a good look but hesitated and threw an exploding grenade to Bron so yeah, Bron isn’t wrong.
Very poor play by Luka
Luka plays losing basketball.
not really but his playstyle is very hard to win a championship with
It’s hard to win a. Chip with any play style
Its hard to win a chip by building around one-way players who suck at defense.
Would you consider Magic, Steph, and Jokic such players? Or would you say they are better than Luka defensively and/or will still fit into a system better in that way?
Naming 3 of the top 15-20 players ever doesn’t really help the argument here, Luka is not in the same stratosphere.
LeWhateverTheCaseMayBe
And things of that nature
Ain’t no party like a Diddy party
the game of basketball
Our ball club
LeForSure
LeItIsWhatItIs
LeBlame
C’est LeVie
I mean bruh luka gave him a grenade, that was a good look already.
He’s so ready to play with Harden and Mitchell
Can’t wait for the leaks to come out about how he and Luka never saw eye to eye. Thing I’ve noticed is they seem to just give PR answers about their relationship and their public interactions seem so forced whereas you can see Luka with AR and other guys on the team having a much more “real” friendship.
lol not everyone is gonna be friends at a workplace. They are cool with each other but Luka is 26.. lebron is 41 lol.
They arent the same type of people
Kyrie is 7 years older and is a lot more off the rails than LeBron but Luka had a great relationship with him. Everything we hear about LeBron is how he’s a kid at heart, playful, etc yet we don’t see the same enthusiasm towards one another and like I said when they do talk about each other it’s a very PR answer.
LeBron throwing Luka under the bus here says a lot about their relationship and if you actually followed LeBrons career; where there is smoke there is always fire with him.
Lmao I swear people with hyper analyze anything with LeBron quotes and body language.
This was not throwing Luka under the bus nephew
“You have to ask Luka what he saw on that. I thought he had a great look”
Its subtle but thats textbook throwing someone under the bus. You really think he’s going to flat out say I don’t know why Luka didn’t shoot it that was a mistake on his part. Use your brain bud, it ain’t rocket science
I mean Luka came out and said that he should have shot it. JJ came out and said the exact same thing as Lebron… guess he’s also throwing Luka under the bus
Luka threw luka under the bus!!
The bus wouldnt have survived
If you thought someone had a great look and they had a great look, what else the fuck are you supposed to say?
Yeah, what Lebron said is precisely the opposite of “throwing someone under the bus”
Was he supposed to deny what we all fkn saw? Ppl wd make a big deal and hyper analyze that too.
“He’s checked out”
“he needs to lead better “
“he needs to be tougher on the young guys”
Idk about him and Luka but Bron and AR have always been pretty tight. Bron played a pretty big role in his development his first couple years
[deleted]
lol yeah bro, he’s is real concerned about losing FMVP to Luka. They aren’t making it out of round 1.
LeBron isn’t even going to play enough games to qualify for mvp lmao. I don’t know what you’re arguing, but it’s stupid.
The edit made it even dumber 😭
Wrf is this lol. LeBron’s been openly deferring to Luka since the trade.
I honestly see no reason for him to want to leave LA where his family is and plus he gets to play golf all year round
It’s a 1 year retirement tour with a chance at a ring in his home state & the franchise he’s played a good chunk of his career.
It’s so obvious that’s where he’s heading next
I’m also ready for him to play with Harden and Mitchell.
He’s like 5th in the West. He’ll be okay
Not dallas with kyrie flagg peterson and co.?
Lmaoo
Ngl that would go hard
Bron said basically the same thing as Luka and JJ who both thought it was a good look for Luka but since LeBron said it they’ll misconstrue this into thinking he’s taking shots at Luka or some shit lmao. Nothing he said here was wrong either.
The media will have a field day saying Bron threw Luka under the bus for the loss, team chemistry is fucked, and Bron is gone as he doesn’t get along with Luka.
He gon to Cleveland.
Bron in the most political way saying luka threw me a grenade
Bingo!
I mean… pretty obvious there. Sky is blue type quote, but it’s LeBron so it’ll be turned into talking points
I understand and Lebron is not wrong here. But in a time where Luka is probably going through the most criticism he has gotten as a Laker, feels like Bron is coming off very distant and not really batting for his guy like he should. Like Bron went through a similar phase in his career and DWade made sure to protect Bron as much as he can and continually remind him of his greatness. Eventually Lebron took over the reins and that team flourished. I feel like that unconditional support DWade had for Bron isn’t what Luka gets from Bron. Again, Bron himself is probably having problems with the organization so maybe he’s just trying dissociate from the situation as best he can but I feel like we’re pretty much at the end of the road with the big 3 from the Lakers.
It’s felt all season like LeBron is done with the Lakers. He even said himself the Lakers aren’t a championship team and he’s just enjoying playing ball.
The Lakers have been making it pretty clear they’ve been done with him since the Luka trade when they canceled the Mark Williams trade and decided to give up on contending that year. Then they kicked the can down the road again this year making no moves on this depleted team, basically wasting 2 straight years of Lebron’s final years (3 if you count 2024 when they also made few moves to build off their WCF run and AD was healthier than ever)
Lebron should have left this past summer, him and Luka are being wasted by an overly cautious Rob Pelinka in the 10% chance of getting an injury prone 32 year old Giannis
Amazing take. Pelinka overall did an awful job building around the 7 straight all-NBA seasons LeBron had left in his tank. Those first round picks that ended up becoming JHS and Knecht should’ve been traded for a true difference maker. Lakers were not far off in 2023.
Sure, LeBron should have given up 50 million dollars and a chance to play with his son another season. Glad you arent his accountant.
So what, you want him to play for free? He said last year and this year he would take a discount if they found trade options or FAs available who would make the team better, Lakers found none.
Unless he took a vet minimum they would only have saved enough for a mid level exception which the Lakers previously wasted on Gabe Vincent with Rob’s GM “expertise” lol. The needs of this team have been the same since even way before Luka, athletic 3 and D wings and proper bigs who can actually rebound.
Glad you arent the lakers gm
You are the one that said he should leave and not sign his player option, not me. That financially makes no sense.
LeBron earned that player option and he is entitled to it.
I am realizing now we are on the same side and completely misread ur reply on my phone, my bad lmao
Yeah. Financially it didnt make sense for Lebron. No other contending team would have given him that much money and there would have been no point in moving out of LA for an even worse team to not compete. I think he is at peace with his career and chasing rings isn’t his priority. However, that doesn’t mean he wont take a vet minimum next year to sign with a contender
Yeah I meant to say the summer of 2024 when he was a FA, though just for basketball reasons last summer too. Rob has continued to sit on his hands expecting Lebron to fall off a cliff each year instead of using the window he had and made win-now moves.
If he had committed to building a contender from the 2024 trade deadline and offseason, this team would be in a much better place with Luka because him and Lebron basically need the same kind of support around him.
Wtf, luka got unconditional support on the mavericks. He never had an insane spotlight like lebron. No one in nba has.
That being said considering how the back office treats lebron and blew up his championship team. How can you not want to just be done with them
Miami was good tho. Miami could compete. I don’t think LeBrons comments here are anything other than “you’ll have to ask Luka, I thought he had a great look”. Meaning Luka was supposed to shoot that open shot or look for Ayton to roll to the basket. Ayton in fact did not lol
I understand why Bron doesn’t really give a shit about this kind of stuff at this stage in his career.
But I will say Luka and Kyrie used to have chemistry issues on the court too. This reminds me of the game against the Wolves late in 2022-23 where Kyrie had just gotten to Dallas and they ended up losing the game becuase they kept hesitating and deferring the game winning shot back and forth to each other. Difference is by this time the next season they were 100% locked in with each other on and off the court and were walking teams down in the clutch together over and over again on their way to the Finals.
Maybe it’s becuase he knew his career was on thin ice after the “situation” in Brooklyn, who knows, but Kyrie 1000% bought into the role of being Luka’s mentor and big bro while also making it very clear it was his team. He would get on stage and openly say he was there to support his hermano and protect him from all the bullshit slander and media criticism and I think their relationship reflected that on the court. It’s been long enough for me to feel pretty comfortable saying that is just not there at all for the Luka/Bron/AR trio. It’s nobody’s real fault and obviously Luka is older now so he shouldnt necessarily need that. But it’s just gonna be an awkward dynamic for them when Luka was clearly brought in as the next guy to push LeBron’s era out the door. Like a company pushing you to retire before you want to and then they hire your replacement while you’re still there as a final sign they want you gone, but they also want you to train and mentor the guy.
Even if it’s not actually a big enough deal to them to the point of causing open tension it’s still there subconsciously enough to the point where I feel like Luka has been way more hesitant in the micro, split second decision making of when to score vs when to defer to Bron more than I’ve ever seen in his career, and it’s still like that a year in.
Isnt Bron also going through his most criticized phase with the Lakers too, tho?
i don’t think he cares tho
Luka is a loser. Plain and simple.
Won Euroleague championship and MVP, 5X first team all NBA, and made a conference finals and a finals in 2 separate seasons before turning 26.
Luka has his flaws as a player, but a loser he is not.
Give me the harden stats next.
this the same dude that said rings are a team accomplishment but after winning the 2016 ring says “that one made me the greatest of all time”.
how are those mutually exclusive? Rings are a team accomplishment, yet we all still take them into account when talking about players legacies.
Yes, we as fans do that lol. Players proclaiming themselves as goats is corny asf.
Players like LeBron don’t get where they are with modesty lmao.
Jordan got where he is with modesty just fine lol. This is a myth that modesty and success are mutually exclusive
Did you… did you just call Jordan modest ? Just delete this app bro.
There’s no saving him lmao
MJ always gave credit to the legends who paved the road before him, and almost always refrained from calling himself the goat lol. Even when he did, he said “I like to think of myself as the best in the world”. wtf are you talking about
Huh!?? Jordan modest? LOL
Do you personally go around telling people your not good at your job when asked about it???
No, but if I said my success was mainly due to a team accomplishment and then turned around and used one specific team win as proof I’m the best ever, that would still be selective credit regardless of how good I am at my job.
He was unreal in Games 5-7 of that series. Probably the greatest Finals performance ever over the greatest regular season team of all time.
He is right that bum forced him to take a bad shot
Lecivilwar
He’s not wrong at all. Luka was shooting contested 3s all game, and passed up a completely wide open look. It was SO bizarre
LeBackstabber
Lethrowunderthebus.
I was just about to type this😂😂😂
Leblown games
Man the lakers are fucking ass, how are we supposed to win championships now? What build around Luka or something and win later?!?
I mean thats the only hope tbh. Only two choices:
Build around Luka and give him a 3-5 year window before bailing on the experiment
Trade him soon for another equal top 5 type of player or lots picks/assets
Get wemby
Luka cannot win. It ain’t happening. Not as the main guy.
Yea yea, he can get to the Finals but thats as far as he goes. Absolute limit!
Equivalent of Portland making the WCF that one year
Why is LeKing wrapped in LeFoil?
Oof, this does not feel like a happy lockerroom.
Absolute Choke Job. Lebron was running the lane when he saw Luka spotting up, going for the offensive board or tip-in. Luka froze, and LeBron had already turned to reset expecting the pass back only to get that grenade.
Only thing I can say is Luka must have felt out of rhythm and didn’t think his shot would fall. But yeah, terrible pass and play.
You can tell he gon go off on Luka lol
i aint even a lebron hate but you can’t say shit like that, just say yeah i missed sucks
That’s true, he usually takes the blame. He’s definitely gone next season
LeBlameGame
I think Luka was looking for Ayton to roll. If you look at the play he would’ve been wide open with a 2 on 1 with Austin Reaves. The defenders doubled Luka and he looked to pass for the easy 2 and win the game.
He hesitated when Ayton didn’t roll. Which caused the bail out pass.
I think that’s why he was so upset at the end. Pretty sure they called the play for Ayton to roll. Luka saw it. But Ayton saw how open he was and stood there
Bro you’re pasting the same thing everywhere ffs
First time I’m reading it. Interesting
No he picked up his dribble too early. That’s what he said thus preventing him from rolling with Ayton.
I don’t think that they called the play for Ayton ,but that Luka saw the opportunity and hesitated because of it. Still not sure why he didn’t just shoot it after that, it’s not like Lebron was in any better position to score it.
im confused why they just tried going for a 3 instead of going shooting a 2
Because you are playing the magic and know a wide open 3 is better than a heavily contested 2 against their long team.
Whatever the case may be
Vibes in the gutter out here
If that was executed as intended until the non shot, then I am a bit confused. It generated a good look, but you’d think they would have something else going on off ball with the 2 uninvolved guys moving just in case.
LeLukaStopComplainingAndShoot2026
This is the second time this year we watched Luka hesitate and sell the game winner! There is something fishy going on behind the scenes with this team, it’s no way possible a team with 3 all stars is playing like this.
Getting spicy in LA
LeAskHimNotMe
Il a gueulé pour avoir la balle Ca mauvaise foi est legendaire 😂😂😂
Bad play call to begin with tbh, why not get some action with someone driving in and potentially getting to the line even if they miss?
You didn’t need to design a 3
100%, just drive into the paint, pump fake and draw contact. Luka, AR and LeBron are as good as it gets at this
They got a wide open 3. It wasn’t really a bad call. Orlando is a team of giants. It’s way harder to get a good look inside the 3 point line against them.
LeNotMyFault
LeGone
Of course He’s not gonna own up to it.
Luka Doncic for the 900th time in his career: “Yes this was on me, i have to be better.”
Leblame
Wow, pointing fingers, but he isn’t wrong either
Zion Williamson on the Corrals’ final dish of the night: “I’m not sure. Obviously you’ll have to ask Ramsey what he cooked that with. I thought he had a good mouthfeel… I was kinda off balance when he gave it to me. I thought he had a great flavor profile”
What a bum….never his fault
He saw your dumb ass bring his defender right into the play and u stand there like a statue.
#dontblameme
Luka was definitely fouled on the play. Luka is fouled on every play.
So LeBron admits he’s checked out instead of being ready for a pass.
One of a million reasons he’s not GOAT level. Not even Ray Allen level.
He was asked a question and answered it. And what he said is literally what happened
Lebron was missing all night too tho and he missed at the FT line but I do agree Luka shoulda shot it tbh
LeBron was on fire and 8-13, the hell are you talking about
“All night”? He was 8-13 lol. The missed FT is fair but then he put the Lakers back up with the dunk.
8⁄13 is missing all night? Jesus Christ did you even watch the game at all? Going off this comment you ain’t watch shit.
i meant in the 4th quarter, i apologize for making that mistake.
it clearly really really upset you.
“all night”
“at the ft line” … clearly i’m talking about the 4th quarter shot he missed at the FT line.
Damn you forcing the hate that hard, i misspoke. He was clanking in that 4th though. Clanked that easy and 1 too imo
Man just say you were wrong. Gah damn.
I did goofy tf, yall want $10 too?
Lebron “never take responsibility and throw your teammates under the bus” James.
How about that missed free throw?
How many free throws did Luka miss boss?
Only one that mattered was Lebron and he continues to fail expectations. 52 million dollars for a glorified 6th man
The 4 free throws Luka missed didn’t matter in a 1 point game?
Edit: it was actually 5
How many points off turnovers did the magic have from Lebron’s 5 turnovers?
I promise you it’s okay that your favourite player cost the team a game
52 million for ticket and jersey sales. Doesn’t benefit you, but worth every penny to the Lakers
I hope he fucking sees every single post ive ever made about him, and he looks in the mirror and rethinks his entire fucking life. What a fucking piece of shit disaster for the lakers organization
See deranged comments like these are why you got banned in the lakers subreddit.
Too many nuthuggers
You actually think LeBron is going to see your posts LMFAOO reddit basement dwellers got next level delusional
Touch grass man. It’s not good to harbour anger or hatred or whatever you’ve got going on
Man it’s always you
Until Lebron is off the team. Expect a post on NBA EVERY GAME.
Im banned from the Lakers subs because the mods are Lebron nuthuggers.
You sound like a really awesome individual
Pretty shocking to be this much against LeBron but saying nothing to the player that normally goes 5-30 fg 2-11 at the three
that’s not what they asked they asked what he thought went on for the final inbound play though
Agree. 4⁄9 from the line from Luka is unacceptable.
Lebron’s 5 TO and clutch missed free throw too.
Sorry man, can’t blame this one on the 41 year old.
kinda can when he’s taking up 50 million of the cap lol.
Luka takes up $50m and shot 8⁄24. What exactly are you arguing?
uhh Luka’s in his prime and a mvp candidate and they need to build around him, and that they can only do that after Lebron’s contract is over? ain’t rocket science
First it was Kyries fault when Luka couldn’t win the finals, now it’s LeBrons fault the lakers are mid. AR will be a max player next, so then it will be his fault I guess. Anybody but the guy who regulalry sells the game just like on that last shot lol.
Yes bc he’s making max level money for not max level production? He himself admits he’s just relaxing and enjoying himself this season, and that he’s not fully committed to making a title push.
22/6/7 as the 12th highest paid player in the league is not underachieving on his contract. KAT makes more than him lol. Additionally, it’s the lakers who have said they aren’t chasing a title this year. To act like LeBron isn’t ‘fully committed to a title push’ for a 5th ring is the dumbest thing said on the internet today.
Exactly, not everyone on this subreddit is smart.
reddit in general tbh