LeBron James turned the NBA preseason into an indoor picnic.
The oldest player in the league did what seniors love to do when they’re hungry – eat.
But rather than being somewhere unseen inside the Los Angeles Lakers’ crypto.com Arena — for example, inside his team’s locker room or in the facility’s many tunnels — James makes his decisions about the best moments in the game. Great venue meal was his team’s bench.
While the game is still going on.
“I don’t like it,” former Lakers player Michael Cooper said on the Showtime with Coop podcast. “Again, he’s LeBron James, but you still have to respect the game, man.
“He’s over there and I don’t mind him eating, but go to the locker room and eat and then when you come out you come out and be part of the team rather than just sitting at the end of the bench eating.”
James may be reminding the NBA that there is no need for the league to conduct preseason games and the regular season needs to start as soon as possible.
Regardless, one of the best defenders in Lakers history didn’t like the idea of the Kings throwing a tantrum when fans paid to watch the game.
At least James didn’t stand up and yell “Taco Tuesday!” or wear a Dallas Cowboys hat.
A rookie or role player will be severely criticized for being visibly flaky on the bench.
The harshest comments James received came from a former NBA player who last played for the Lakers in 1990.
James put up solid numbers in just 18 minutes of playing time, scoring 12 points on 4-of-8 shooting, while dishing out 5 assists and 2 rebounds.
However, the Lakers needed more inner hunger and lost to the Golden State Warriors 129-125 with James struggling.
The King has been working (and eating) hard heading into his 21st NBA season.
He is already the league’s all-time scoring leader, and his next regular season game will be the 1,422nd game of his career.
Cooper won five world championships with Los Angeles and was named to the All-Defensive team eight times.