LeBron criticizes NBA officiating
After the Lakers started 2023 with a bang, winning four games in a row, they have found themselves back to where they were after losing four out of their last six games. While the Lakers haven’t been playing the best brand of basketball, this losing streak isn’t all their fault. LeBron James has recently come out on Twitter complaining about the officiating and all the missed calls.
James has been frustrated with the referees throughout the season. The Lakers star will drive to the basket and get bumped during games, but no call will be made. It seems as though the referees have started to hold their whistles for James. James is still a superstar in this league and a top scorer. However, he isn’t getting treated like the rest of them.
It’s not just James that has been getting the bad side of the whistle. It’s the whole Lakers group. As of late, the Lakers have lost many games due to the referees not making the correct call. The officiating crew even admitted to these mistakes in their last two-minute reports that they post on Twitter after each set of games.
The officiating crew admitted to missing two calls during their game against the Dallas Mavericks on January 12, where James was fouled on a game-winning drive with 2.9 seconds left in overtime, in a tied game which would have sent James to the free-throw line. They also missed a foul for Wenyen Gabriel with 2.4 seconds left that would have sent him to the free-throw line.
Last Wednesday, the Lakers were also on the wrong side of the call against the Kings. Los Angeles was down by four when Kendrick Nunn shot and made a three-pointer with eight seconds left. On the shot, there was contact from De’Aaron Fox, which would have sent Nunn to the line for a potential four-point play. The officiating crew once again admitted they missed a call that could have sent the game to overtime. Instead, the Lakers lost in regulation.
While you can’t always rely on the officials giving you the benefit of the call, it’s frustrating when you’re on the losing side of the call during multiple games on game-winning or tying shots. With the Western Conference being so tight, every win matters. The Lakers have to be better and not be in a position where they need to rely on the referees to make the correct calls to win a game.
