The Lakers Nation has a ‘reply with a twist’ for Randy Orton’s unfiltered bash at LeBron James. The flurry of hate and criticism isn’t anything new for the 4x NBA Champion. Over the last two decades, the Akron Hammer has continued to receive love from his fans and a barrage of hate now and then. This time, it was the 44-year-old WWE superstar who stirred up the NBA world with his latest remark on James. However, the seasoned LA Lakers insider put it to Purple & Gold’s advantage with his unique take and revealed the reason behind the hate.

In a recent video released on WWE’s YouTube channel, the superstar alongside Cody Rhodes sat down for a chit-chat and the American Nightmare brought up the age-old NBA GOAT debate. Before even Rhodes could completely utter the names of Michael Jordan and King James, Randy interrupted and said, “F**k LeBron.” It created waves immediately across the NBA world.

However, despite being a Lakers fan, Lakers Nations’ Trevor Lane welcomed Randy’s hate. Lane said, “The RKO out of nowhere. Why Randy why?… This is just a reminder of how polarizing the Lakers are. And that is not a bad thing.” He further picked Orton’s industry and stressed how it is important to keep the audience buzzing.

Moreover, Trevor Lane linked it to the NBA world, and said, “You want them to either cheer for you or boo you. You want a reaction and that is what the Lakers get, and that’s why the Lakers have more nationally televised games than anybody else. You got people right now crying about it, crying about, ‘Why do they have so many nationally televised games?’ because people watch them. Whether you love them or hate them, you watch them.”  

The Lakers have a total of 39 nationally televised games which are the highest among the other franchises and it’s followed by the Golden State Warriors with 36 games.

The Lakers’ Insider’s message to Randy Orton

Unfazed by the hate thrown at LeBron James, Trevor Lane proceeded with an important message to the haters. He added, “So Randy Orton saying ‘F Lebron’, I’m fine with it. Hate the man. Hate the Lakers, but you’re gonna watch them. That’s the important piece to all of this. And that’s what keeps the Lakers on National TV and that’s what keeps the Lakers in the spotlight because one way or the other you care about them.” 

Nevertheless, there isn’t any response from the man himself. The superstar has addressed the hater himself in the past several times. Notably, James’ response after the 2011 NBA Finals loss against the Dallas Mavericks still has a lot of fans. The 4x NBA Champ then said, “At the end of the day, all the people that was rooting on me to fail, they got to wake up tomorrow and have the same life that they had before they woke up today… I’m gonna continue to live the way I want to live.”

However, comparatively, LeBron James and Randy Orton have had similar careers. Even though James is currently hated during his Lakers stint, he wasn’t hated as much as he was hated during the Miami Heat stint. He was unofficially named the certified villain of the NBA world. And the same went with Orton. The star continued to thrive on hate throughout his career.

Before leaving, do watch the Dual Threat Show hosted by BG12 where Bulldogs’ Asia Avinger details her experience with Kobe Bryant, her WNBA ROTY picks, and more in the video below.