Adam Silver and his officials have strict rules for players or coaches confronting referees. Whether it’s Joe Mazzulla’s Christmas wish or Rudy Gobert’s “inappropriate” gesture, the league quickly imposes hefty fines on those who challenge the game officials. But what happens when the referees are at fault? A bad or missed call can change the fate of a team yet, the game officials often turn a blind eye to this. The latest victim of one such alleged unfair decision is the face of the league, LeBron James.
Following the Lakers’ 119-102 victory against Atlanta, the Access SportsNet crew sat down to discuss the key aspects of the game. Naturally, LeBron came up when the name of the team’s highest scorer was discussed. All four panelists were equally awestruck by the way LeBron was still going strong. That’s when Chris McGee pointed out, “By the way, he gets fouled 35 times a game.” Mike Bresnahan wholeheartedly agreed with his colleague.
But do all of them get called out by the game official? Absolutely not. McGee added, “He gets about 3 or 4 calls,” clarifying that only a fraction of those fouls actually get called by the referees. Such a massive number of fouls being missed per night against LeBron is nothing short of shocking. Had those 32 calls not been ignored, the outcome of some games might have gone in a different direction.
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Bresnahan then chimed in, saying, “These superstars, as they get older, they get farther away from the basket. Not LeBron. He still goes full boar when he wants to.” There’s no two ways about it. LeBron proved it once again against the Hawks. Despite the fouls being ignored, it’s not enough to stop the 20-time All-Star.
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LeBron James unlocks a new record in league history
Just another day in LA, and another record for their superstar. LeBron has entered his 22nd season with a hunger for success, and it’s evident in his performance. Even at 40, he’s breaking records and setting new milestones. This time, it was Michael Jordan, who had to give up the top spot to him.
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LeBron was neck-and-neck with the Bulls legend after putting up 38 points against the Trail Blazers in his previous game. The record-breaking moment came in the following game against the Hawks on Friday night when he scored 30 points. With this performance, LeBron became the only player to have recorded the most 30-point games, reaching 563 and surpassing MJ. Besides that, LeBron also added 3 rebounds and 8 assists to the stat sheet.
His Airness set that record in his 15th season in 2003, achieving it in just 1072 games. Whereas, LeBron took 451 more games. Nevertheless, the way he is continuing this season, after a dip in the middle, it certainly looks like there are many more milestones he will be aiming to climb next.
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Are NBA referees turning a blind eye to fouls on LeBron, or is it just tough love?
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