Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James is going through a difficult time at the end of 2021, both on and off the court.
James averaged 32.4 points, 10.3 rebounds and 6.3 assists in the last seven games, spending 37.3 minutes per night on the floor. But despite his extraordinary performance, L.A. lost six of the seven fixtures, including the 104-99 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies during which the Purple and Gold led for the majority of the night.
Meanwhile, James has also come under fire because of his recent Instagram post. The four-time NBA champion shared a meme that seemingly likened the coronavirus (COVID-19) to the flu and common cold.
Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar then wrote on his Substack that James’ post was “a blow to his worthy legacy.” Asked about his response to Abdul-Jabbar’s criticism, the 37-year-old All-Star chose to explain the rationale behind sharing the meme instead.
“No, I don’t have a response to Kareem at all,” he said. “And if you saw the post and you read the tag, you know that I’m literally honestly asking ‘help me out.’ Help me kind of figure it all out, like we’re all trying to figure this pandemic out. We’re all trying to figure out COVID and the new strain.
“And the flu, I think people forgot about the flu. People like literally forgot about the flu during these times, like that’s still going around. It’s flu season, so people have forgot about the flu. People have forgot about common colds. That happens, especially with a lot of our kids that’s in school.
“My daughter is in the first grade, so a lot of these kids are getting like common colds and getting the flu. But no, I don’t have any response to Kareem. No. At all.”
James briefly entered the NBA’s health and safety protocols in November after what appeared to be a false positive coronavirus test result.
James ties career-high eight triples in a single game in loss to Grizzlies
The day after James and Russell Westbrook became the Lakers’ third-ever duo to register a triple-double in the same game in the win over the Houston Rockets, they almost repeated the following day.
However, the former came up three assists short of a triple-double in the 104-99 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies.
James still had a night to remember though. The forward made eight 3-pointers in the game, tying his career-high for the first time since 2013-14. James ended the night 8-for-14 from downtown.
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