Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James is taking some heat online right now following his actions that led to Phoenix Suns forward Mikal Bridges' scary fall on Friday. The reigning champions suited up for their final preseason game on Friday inside the Talking Stick Resort Arena. At the six-minute mark of the opening period, James appeared to undercut Bridges as he made his way to the paint. Replays showed that The King seemed to purposely extend his right forearm, causing Bridges to lose his balance mid-air.
Here's the controversial play in question.
Mikal Bridges appears to get undercut by LeBron James on his landing and took a very scary fall.https://t.co/wgkbqUjn0c
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) December 19, 2020
Twitter users were not happy with the four-time MVP soon after the clip circulated online. Some questioned why LeBron would pull off something like that, especially in a meaningless preseason game.
LeBron definitely didn’t mean to take his legs out from under him, but the push to his back in mid air is very dodgy. He knows better than to do that, especially in the preseason. https://t.co/CwpOaIeXMC
— Denholm Melrose (@DMelrose41) December 19, 2020
https://twitter.com/Ricj27_/status/1340145027138400258?s=20
So nobody ain’t see that?? https://t.co/OOzGYjlsA8
— sb (@STFUNlGGA) December 19, 2020
Be better LeBron! https://t.co/c3BUTJxjL7
— Marco “Thee Alta” Peralta (@TheeAltaPeralta) December 19, 2020
Others, meanwhile, showed concern for the promising 24-year-old swingman, who stayed on the floor for several seconds before trying to get up on his own power. The fact that James also did not bother to walk over or check up on Bridges also did not sit well with others.
Damn it dude. I love Mikal Bridges. Been one of my favorite players since he was at Nova.
Fuck LeBron James fr https://t.co/oYzenEzoSY
— 𝙕𝙖𝙘𝙠🥊 (@PrettyyFIacko) December 19, 2020
This was pretty dirty https://t.co/uWNPZObGMw
— Hater93 (@Blainer93) December 19, 2020
What the fuck Lebron pushes bridges mid air that’s a flagrant and no call!!?! @NBAOfficial
— Azsportsrealtor (@AZSportsRealtor) December 19, 2020
Some fans, meanwhile, saw it the other way and were quick to come to The King's defense. Considering James has never been considered a dirty player throughout his entire career, some believe the incident was purely coincidental.
That was not intentional. Lebron is so slow right now that I don’t think he expected to land there (Lebron)
— JS (@allOberTheWorld) December 19, 2020
https://twitter.com/_Hxnryu/status/1340145132666929152
Mikal Bridges, meanwhile, managed to return to the floor after that hard hit. Still, Suns fans are not letting LeBron get off easily following that uncharacteristic commotion. For his part, LeBron James has been considered by many as a pacifist during these kinds of situations. Good thing nobody got seriously hurt.