On October 11, 2020, the Los Angeles Lakers faced off against the Miami Heat in game three of the National Basketball Association Finals. In an intense match between the two teams, the Heat were up in the fourth quarter by 11 points with 10 seconds left in the game. At that point, Lebron James started to walk off the court as if the game was already over. This sparked an uproar from fans all across the league.
Many fans were very upset with James and his actions. James is a large icon in the basketball community and many athletes look up to him. Coming from a basketball player’s standpoint, junior Andy Tindell had some things to say about James’ actions.
“I think what Lebron did was very wrong and it shows weakness and selfishness,” Tindell said. “[Lebron] is a big influence to young kids and should be showing kids the right way to respond to a loss. It’s just very bad sportsmanship.”
Antioch Community High School Basketball Coach Mitchell Munda was also unhappy about James’ poor portrayal.
“He should have stayed on the court, there were only like 15 seconds left,” Munda said. “As a basketball coach myself, I would not allow that to happen, but he is a professional and can do what he wants.”
According to Fox News, the announcers of the game mentioned that what James did was a very poor look on his part. For James to be as big of an icon as he is, some think this will stain his legacy as his career progresses. However, many believe that James will bounce back from the skeptics to win his fourth NBA championship.
