On Saturday, the Los Angeles Lakers were on the wrong end of results. The Lakers saw their impressive eight-game winning streak come to an end with a 111-101 loss against the Celtics. As if the loss wasn’t bad enough, James exited the game in the fourth quarter with an injury that could sideline him for weeks. Nonetheless, he managed to finish the game with 22 points, 14 rebounds, and nine assists. Despite so much unfolding during the game, it might just be the brutal moment the fans remember from the night.

The moment came during the fourth and final quarter. With Los Angeles trailing by a huge margin of 18 points, Boston’s Jayson Tatum did a little pump fake and blew past LeBron James. Tatum drove toward the basket to make a layup. It was during this play when Tatum seemingly might have made minimal contact with James with his elbow. Calling it a graze might even be a stretch. However, James went down in an exaggerated, Hollywood-like fashion, trying to sell the foul.

However, the 40-year-old might have forgotten about all the high-definition cameras set up in the arena. The replay made the flop look much worse than it did in real life. LeBron was pretty slow to react to the contact, making the fall look massively exaggerated. It was an embarrassing sight for James, to say the least. All of this is just to grab the referee’s attention and win a foul. However, this stunt backfired massively for James. The clip gained massive traction on social media with fans and followers from all over the world joining in to express their thoughts on this hilarious flop by the Lakers star.

It’s safe to say that the viewers were not impressed by LeBron James’ antics. They were quick to call out James for the flop, with one fan naming the Lakers forward the “Best actor in LA: LeBron James“. He sarcastically suggested that James is the best actor in LA. Moreover, the user attached an embarrassing video of the play to make matters even worse. He wasn’t the only one mocking James—fans flooded social media with criticism and jokes about the flop.

Fans call out Lakers star LeBron James after his on-court antics against Boston

As if being called the best actor in LA wasn’t embarrassing enough, another fan criticized James’ game! A user took to ‘X‘ to express her thoughts. “The dude gets beat and has to flop to cover how horrible his defense was.” She accused the 40-year-old forward’s defensive abilities. Suggesting that James uses flopping as a cover-up for his mistakes while being one-on-one against a player. Well, it’s pretty hard given that James has been a solid two-way player for so many years now.

Another follower took on a dig at the No. 23 by mentioning Michael Jordan. “I think he can definitely act better than Jordan.” He stated. The GOAT debate between James and Jordan has been a trending topic lately. There have been a lot of talks with several people saying, you should enjoy both instead of comparing, while a few stand firm on who they think is the greatest. The follower keeping this in mind, decided to give a sarcastic take on the situation.

Meanwhile, one fan thinks the 40-year-old is all set for a change of career. He stated, “He’s ready for his soccer career now.” He hilariously suggested King James switch sports and start a career in soccer. For those of you who are not aware, soccer is infamous for its players flopping. It’s mainly done to ensure that the opponent players get booked with a yellow or a red card. As per this fan, his flopping skills might come in good use in soccer.

Lastly, a person took out his frustration about the situation. He questioned the level of these antics by James and even called out the league. “He should start paying fines for these antics. It’s no wonder nobody watches the @NBA.” he wrote in disgust. Well, he has a point! And the NBA does have an anti-flopping rule. Due to this, the NBA might punish LeBron James. Recently, the league fined Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell $2,000 for flopping. 

While LeBron’s flop became the night’s viral moment, the bigger concern for the Lakers is his injury. With James expected to miss time, the Lakers must find a way to generate offense without their leader. Luka Dončić will likely take on a bigger role, while players like Austin Reaves will need to step up in playmaking duties. The Western Conference playoff race is tight, and without James, the Lakers’ season could take a serious hit.

Whether or not this flop results in a fine, the Lakers now have a much bigger challenge ahead.