There's no such thing as a sure thing in the NBA. That was exemplified once again during one shocking — and hilarious — moment in the second quarter of Thursday night's game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena when LeBron James went from 100 to zero in a blink of an eye.
LeBron James, welcome to your Shaqtin' a Fool moment in the 2023 Western Conference Finals.
Oh no LeBron 😭😭pic.twitter.com/3R0n52eIgD
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) May 19, 2023
In that play, Rui Hachimura found LeBron James who was racing down the floor with not one body in front of him. Ninety-nine point nine percent of the time, that would have been a highlight dunk for the four-time league Most Valuable Player. But not this time. The ball slipped out of the hands of LeBron James just as he was going to pull off a reverse two-handed jam. However, that was by no means a sign that LeBron James no longer has it. He certainly can still pull off basically any dunk he wants event at age 38. It just wasn't going to be the case during that forgettable play.
The Lakers need every point they can muster if they are to outlast the tough Nikola Jokic-led Nuggets, so that was clearly a wasted opportunity for Los Angeles not only to score an easy bucket but to inject further confidence into the team.
Nevertheless, LeBron James should still be able to find other opportunities to make highlights and impactful plays for the Lakers, who are looking to tie the series at 1-1 before flying back home for Games 3 and 4.