No matter what any former officials say, we all know LeBron James has a short leash when it comes to bad calls from referees during his games. He has his moments just like anyone else.
But there was one on Friday night during the Clippers game that, honestly, I’d never seen before.
James was upset about a coach’s challenge from the Clippers’ Ty Lue. There was a rebound scrum with about 24 seconds left on the game clock. The original ruling was Lakers’ ball after Robert Covington touched the ball and knocks it out of bounds on the baseline.
But Lue didn’t challenge whether or not Covington knocked it out of bounds. He challenged whether James was out of bounds by the time he threw the ball back in, which wasn’t actually a made call.
So, essentially, Lue challenged a no-call. Here’s a look at the play.
LeBron in or out of bounds? pic.twitter.com/eGk1xauvLx
— The Action Network (@ActionNetworkHQ) February 26, 2022
The officials ruled that James was actually out of bounds and it was Clipper ball after a nine-minute (!!!!!!) review. And this was a pretty crucial moment in the game that wound up propelling the Clippers to their win.
Obviously, James was heated. The Clippers just challenged a no-call. Can you actually do that? James had to ask his old teammate and ESPN broadcast man Richard Jefferson about it. That’s how mad he was.
LeBron talking to Richard Jefferson after an overturned out of bounds call 😅 pic.twitter.com/6b2qVqidwI
— ESPN (@espn) February 26, 2022
“The thing that was called was Covington knocking the ball off his hand. You can’t go back…That’s not the play that was called. You can’t do that.”
Whew boy. Bron was going in on the officials on a nationally broadcasted platform. And, honestly, I can’t blame him. Because how can you challenge something that wasn’t called?
Fans felt him on this one…while also appreciating the fact that they just had this conversation on live television. It was pretty hilarious.
