VIDEO: LeBron Openly Calls Out Refs to Jeff Van Gundy Live During ESPN Broadcast
By Jerry Trotta
LeBron James has been known to nitpick refereeing throughout his career, and more often than not, he has a point. But when you're bigger, better, and stronger than everybody else on the hardwood, you aren't going to be officiated like most players. Well, in the closing minutes of the Lakers impressive comeback win over the Pelicans on Friday night, The King made his way over to Jeff Van Gundy and the rest of ESPN's broadcasting crew to voice his frustrations about a particular call.
We're not so sure we've ever seen LBJ do this before, and now we'll have to wait and see if the NBA views this open criticism as fine-worthy.
Given the league's track record of denting the wallets of players for lambasting referees, LeBron might have to cough up some cash in the coming days, though he does often seem to get away with things no other player could.
The King had a night worth celebrating, in the end, as the referees didn't prevent the Lakers from walking away with a win in the Big Easy. He also became the youngest player to score 33,000 career points, and just the fourth NBA player in league history to achieve that milestone.