Los Angeles Lakers fans aren’t taking too kindly towards the recent officiating by NBA referees against LeBron James. As we all know, the 2023-2024 NBA season has finally begun and the teams from across the league have begun competing for a good spot in the postseason.
Considering that the Lakers managed to make it all the way to the Western Conference Finals last year, the standard that has been set by the team is quite high. At the moment, the Lakers hold a record of 3 wins and 4 losses.
Their most recent loss came at the hands of the Miami Heat. Since this was a close game that could have gone either way, Lakers fans were quick to defend their loss by pointing out that there was a potential bias against the Lakers while they were playing in Miami. That said, let us take a closer look and find out more.
Fans accuse NBA referees of missing an obvious foul against LeBron James
Members of the basketball community will be aware that NBA officials have undergone a fair share of scrutiny and criticism in recent times over the questionable calls that they have made during pivotal stretches of games.
It looks like something similar happened once again in the game between the Heat and the Lakers. As LeBron drove to the rim and tried to dunk the basketball, he was met in the air by Thomas Bryant, who appeared to hit the Lakers star in the face inadvertently with his hand while trying to stop the basketball.
While this should certainly be considered a foul in today’s league, no such foul call was made in LeBron’s favor. Since the Lakers ended up losing the game by one point, one could argue that this call impacted the very outcome of this game.
Fans were quick to make their displeasure clear on social media, “LeBron literally catching an elbow to the face. No call…Useless bums.”
LeBron literally catching an elbow to the face. No call
Useless bums @NBAOfficial @OfficialNBARefs
pic.twitter.com/y9lm0MGUd9— 🎭 (@MaskedInLA) November 7, 2023
Considering that a referee was present at the perfect spot to notice the foul, fans voiced out their opinions that he should face some form of repercussion for missing this important foul call.
I don’t get it the man gets fouled on 50 percent of his drives inside the paint and can’t buy a call straight elbowed clear as day technically a flagrant as well
— FearTheReaper (@ChrisEd07215338) November 7, 2023
At the end of the day, this is quite a sensitive issue. On the one hand, the referee is also human and cannot be expected to catch every foul call. However, missing game-altering calls shouldn’t be overlooked for too long.