Amid a tense playoff situation, LeBron James catches a break for a family moment. The Los Angeles Lakers had a lot of fingers pointing at him after the Game 1 loss against the Denver Nuggets. Fans and critics questioned his ability to close out games. However, unfazed by all that, King James picked up the father role to appreciate Bryce James amid his preparation for Game 2.
Akron Hammer took to his Instagram stories and dropped his youngest son Bryce James’s highlight compilation. The post also carried a caption which read, “Bryce James got in his bag this weekend.” The IG post had various plays of the 16-year-old in the ‘Strive for Greatness’ jersey against different teams. Notably, James Jr. resembled his father’s fade-away jumpers and blocks in a few of the plays.
Even though the highlight reel stood as a testament to Bryce James’ bright future, it may irk a flurry of hateful comments. LeBron James has had a difficult last few days despite qualifying for the playoffs. A few days ago, the superstar’s eldest son, Bronny James, had the spotlight on him when he signed up for both the 2024 NBA Draft and college transfer. The news instantly triggered a lot of hate comments, attacking the 19-year-old for his poor freshman-year performance, averaging 4.8 points in 25 games.
Above all, some critics blamed the superstar for the pressure that James Jr. had to undergo. Now that Bryce James is only years away from playing college basketball, the teenager might also have to go through a similar testing time.
On top of it, Father James has a huge mountain in front to climb, the Denver Nuggets mountain. The Lakers lost their 9th straight game against them on Saturday night. And veteran analysts blamed him for ‘no play’ in the last quarter.
LeBron James and the Nuggets’ dilemma
The Lakers fell short against the Nuggets in the West Conference Finals with a series whitewash. Following that, the team again went 0-3 in the regular season series. While the fans expected LeBron James & Co. to seek revenge in Game 1, the Nuggets once again walked away with the win.
In fact, the Lakers had their game on their hold until the first half with a 3-point lead. However, in the third quarter, the Nuggets went on 32-18 and took an 11-point lead. After a short fight to cut down the lead to 6-point, the Nuggs took the game away for a 103-114 victory. In the last quarter, James could drop only 4 points, out of which two of them came after the game was completely taken away from the Lakers.
Criticizing it, veteran analyst Skip Bayless trashed the superstar for his inability to score in the fourth quarter throughout his career. He also called out D’Angelo Russell for having a poor shooting night with a poor 30% from the field. Despite the criticism, former NBA star Gilbert Arenas predicted that the Lakers would win the series. Following the Game 1 loss, Arenas took to his X handle and wrote, “Lakers in 7.”
Will LeBron James end the Lakers’ adversity? Let us know in the comments below.