Fans may question LeBron James and his occasional poor body language when circumstances don't go his way. But with the Los Angeles Lakers' backs against the wall in Game 5 of their first-round series against the Denver Nuggets, James is as defiant as ever, refusing to go gently into the good night. Late in the third quarter, James, after landing awkwardly following a made layup, refused to come out of the game despite tweaking his left ankle.
The Lakers star was vociferously motioning towards his team's bench that there was no way he was coming out of the game, and understandably so. After all, their playoff life was hanging on by a thread, and the Lakers will need James around if they were to inch closer to pulling off a historic comeback over the reigning champion Nuggets.
Given the wear and tear on his body and his age, this is nothing short of a heroic effort from LeBron James. The Lakers continue to keep it close against the Nuggets, and if they were to pull this Game 5 victory out, there's no telling how far they could take this upset bid.
LeBron James, the most polarizing superstar in NBA history
One would think that LeBron James' decision to stay in the game is admirable; the Lakers star had revealed earlier in the season that he has endured a ton of wear and tear on his body, and at age 39, dealing with minor injuries has become more difficult.
Nonetheless, a few fans thought that James was merely exaggerating the pain on his ankle in an attempt to sway the officiating in his favor.
“I can’t stand Lebron and AD faking injuries. Lebron with the constant “elbow” pain and now an ankle he didn’t even land on is tweaked gtfo 😂,” one fan wrote. Wrote another, “Lebron misses a layup and cries for a foul call.. Next possession he makes the layup through contact with no call, so he gets “injured” They show the replay and he grabs the opposite ankle of the one he landed on🤣🤣🤣 This guy is such a fraud.”
Another added, “Superstars fake injuries to send a message to the refs. Lebron did it with his left ankle in the 3rd. AD does it all the time.”
Of course, LeBron James said in the past that his left ankle has been bothering him for quite some time now. Making a layup over two defenders forces a suboptimal landing, so it may have so happened that James put more weight on his flimsy ankle than he would have liked.
In the end, it did not matter; James ended up dropping 30 points in 44 minutes of action, but the Lakers' season came to an end anyway in quite the heartbreaking fashion, with Jamal Murray nailing another game-winner to give the Nuggets a series-clinching 108-106 win in Game 5.