With LeBron James agreeing to a 4-year, $154 million contract with the Los Angeles Lakers, social media has been rife with jokes about his move. Some have even taken it further and started some memes poking fun at the NBA superstar’s latest team selection.
The “lakers game score” was a joke that the Lakers were going to get the number one seed in the Western Conference. The Lakers missed the playoffs and LeBron James got mocked on social media.
Let’s put the LeBron James NBA GOAT debate on hold for the time being. If you’re in the debate for being one of the greatest players of all time, you go out and recruit your own squad, and you can’t even reach the playoffs, you should be suspended for a year as a GOAT.
This year’s achievements — or failures — by James and the Lakers are humiliating. The Lakers were formally eliminated from postseason contention with a week to go in the season after starting James, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook, three players who have combined for 35 NBA All-Star appearances. As soon as the letter “e” appeared next to the Lakers in the NBA standings, social media exploded.
The Lakers and LeBron James endured a season they’d want to forget.
On April 1, 2022, in Los Angeles, California, LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers reacts in the dying seconds of a game against the New Orleans Pelicans at Crypto.com Arena. The Pelicans were victorious | Getty Images/Kevork Djansezian
Technically, the Lakers season is still going, but they’re going nowhere. The Phoenix Suns helped squash any playoff hopes the Lakers had with a 121-110 victory over LeBron & Co. on Tuesday. The Lakers, a title contender at the beginning of the year, failed to even reach the postseason.
Allow it to sink in. A team containing James, Davis, and Westbrook wasn’t one of the 20 teams to qualify for the playoffs (play-in game included).
According to The Ringer, Lakers coach Frank Vogel remarked after the defeat to the Suns, “I’m quite unhappy.” “I’m sorry for our fan base’s disappointment. We were disappointed for the Buss family, who provided us with this chance, and we wanted to contribute to Laker basketball’s success, but we fell short.”
Yes, the Lakers have been plagued by injuries this season. Davis, as expected, spent the most of his tenure on the bench, appearing in just 40 games. James, too, was injured and only played in 56 games, but with James in the lineup, the club should be able to compete in the top 20 in the league.
The Lakers were a complete disaster. James is the embarrassment’s leader. That’s not to suggest he didn’t do well on the court. Whatever you want to say about it, James is also the Lakers’ acting general manager. He was instrumental in Davis’s decision to go to Los Angeles. He and Davis brought in Westbrook this season, who appeared in 78 games.
The Lakers are the laughingstock of the NBA right now. Before the embarrassment officially began, fans mocked the Lakers after James attempted to put together another superteam by adding Westbrook. They also brought in Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard. Many believed the team was over the hill. James used all that talk as motivation in a since-deleted tweet.
“Keep talking about my team, our ages, the way they play, how long we’ve been in this league, etc, etc!!” On August 4, 2021, James wrote. “Please do me a favor!!!!” Please, please, please!!!! When it starts, maintain the same narrative ENERGY. All I want is for you to do it. #ThankYou.”
While James was deleting tweets, others were sending them out, mocking the squad. Former Boston Celtics center Kendrick Perkins, who is now an outspoken basketball pundit, believes the Lakers are one of the league’s worst disappointments.
“This Lakers team not making the playoffs is one the Biggest Disappointments in NBA HISTORY!!!,” Perkins tweeted. ‘It’s one thing to underachieve in the Playoffs but to not make it at all is RIDICULOUS. Carry on….”
“The Lakers’ playoff hopes are now talking to the media,” one Twitter user joked after posting a photo of an empty chair at a Lakers news conference.
What’s next for LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers?
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The good news for the Lakers is that they now have some breathing room to figure out what to do next season. Will James jump out and attempt to establish another Big Three someplace else after helping to create this mess?
What about Westbrook, for example? Would any club be willing to trade for the nine-time All-Star? Next season, he has a $47 million player option. He intends to return, according to CBS Sports.
Westbrook said, “That’s the plan.” “However, nothing is certain. It’s almost as if you have to take it one day at a time. You have to play the cards you’re handed, like I’ve stated all season. Yes, we’d want to see what it looks like and implies over the length of an 82-game season, but we’re not convinced that’s possible. So all I can say is that I hope we have a chance to accomplish something.”
The Lakers will almost certainly be looking for a new coach as well. Frank Vogel was the least of their issues, but when it comes to change, the coach is often the first to go.
What James does will determine a lot. The guy who calls himself King James has a lot of clout when it comes to personnel choices. For the time being, he might be referred to as the King of Disappointment.
Russell Westbrook is mistaken if he believes the Lakers can afford to pay him $47 million. RELATED: Russell Westbrook Is Wrong If He Thinks the Lakers Can Afford to Pay Him $47 Million
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