A baffled LeBron James has joked that he ‘gives up’ with NBA officials after being left with huge scratches on his arm from the Lakers’ win over the Trail Blazers.
During the third quarter of Sunday’s game at Crypto.com Arena, LeBron tried to drive towards the basket only to be thwarted by Portland‘s Scoot Henderson, who appeared to scratch him on his right shoulder as he got past him.
Despite his protests, the Lakers legend was not awarded a foul for Henderson’s scratch and was instead patched up with ointment before continuing the game.
And after helping LA secure a 134-110 victory on the night, LeBron took to Instagram the next day to show off his battle scars and bemoan the officials’ no-call.
‘[Zebra emoji] look right at me and said, “I didn’t see a foul!”‘ he wrote alongside a photo of his scratched arm. ‘Man what! ‘I give up man.’
LeBron James has joked that he ‘gives up’ with NBA officials after being left with huge scratches on his arm after the Lakers’ win over the Trail Blazers.
LeBron tried to drive towards the basket only to be thwarted by Portland ‘s Scoot Henderson, who appeared to scratch him on his right shoulder.
Despite the huge scratches left on his arm, the 39-year-old was not awarded a foul.
LeBron made his frustrations known on the court before swiping at officials on social media.
James, who scored 28 points, five assists and five rebounds in the win, has taken regular swipes at NBA officials over the course of the season.
At the end of December, the 39-year-old exploded in fury after a last-gasp three pointer to tie the Lakers’ game vs. Minnesota was ruled out when officials said his foot was on the three-point line.
‘It’s obviously a three – my foot is behind the line,’ said James. ‘You can see the space between the front of my foot and the three point line. You can clearly see the wood on the floor – there’s a space between the front of my foot and the three point line. Stevie Wonder can see that, champ!’
LeBron also voiced his annoyance at the NBA Replay Center in Secaucus, New Jersey, describing the call as ‘frustration’.
‘[NBA referee] Tony Brothers did not have [an explanation] but I did not talk to TB I talked to the other ref and he said it was out of their hands,’ LeBron further said. ‘The Secaucus – over there in the replay center or whatever, somebody over there eating a ham sandwich or somebody made the call. It’s super frustrating in the sense that what the hell have we got a replay for?
‘What do we have a replay for if even a replay gets it wrong? Who is a part of the replay center? Have we got robots in there that are making the Teslas – what’s going on, if you don’t see that? That is clear.’
