LeBron James expressed his frustration with NBA officials on Saturday night as the team experienced a defeat against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
In the final moments of the game, with less than 5 seconds remaining, James attempted what he believed to be a game-tying 3-pointer. However, the NBA’s replay center disagreed, ruling it as a 2-pointer. As the PA announcer conveyed this decision to the crowd at the Target Center, James and Anthony Davis rushed to the scorer’s table monitor, gesturing towards the screen in an attempt to argue their case. James expressed his frustration passionately during the postgame press conference.
“It’s obviously a 3,” James said. “My foot is behind the line. I mean, you can see the space between the front of my foot and the 3-point line. You can clearly see a white, the wood on the floor, there’s a space in between the front of my foot and the 3-point line. So, you know, Stevie Wonder can see that, champ.”
He added, “It’s super frustrating in the sense of what the hell we got a replay for? What do we have replay for if even the replay gets it wrong? It’s like, who’s the part of the replay center? Like, do we got robots in there that’s making the Teslas? What’s going on? If you don’t see that, that is clear, that is clear.”
LeBron James: “What’s the point of having replay if even the replay gets it wrong?” pic.twitter.com/gOyctVZUZH
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) December 31, 2023
According to the pool report from official Tony Brothers, the review did not provide conclusive evidence to overturn the initial call made on the court.
“The play was ruled a 2-point field goal on the floor during live play,” Brothers said. “After video review, there wasn’t clear and conclusive evidence to overturn it from a 2 to a 3, and that’s why it stood as a 2-point field goal.”
For those wondering about Lebron James’s foot as he rose up for a potential game tying 3, the Lakers feed wouldn’t show a slo mo replay of the entire jump, just a freeze frame that didn’t tell whole story. Wolves feed showed his toe rolled into contact with line pic.twitter.com/iPKYJ0y0Ij
— BBALLBREAKDOWN (@bballbreakdown) December 31, 2023
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