-
Dave McMenamin, ESPN staff writer
The Los Angeles Lakers contacted the NBA league office on Tuesday about multiple missed foul calls during Monday’s 108-107 loss to the Miami Heat, sources told ESPN.
According to sources, the main focus of the Lakers’ dispute is the way LeBron James officiates. The Lakers shared multiple clips showing what they believed was clear illegal contact on James by a Heat guard that went unnoticed by referees.
James attempted four free throws against Miami, lowering his season average to 5.7, which would tie a single-season career low if it continues. According to Second Spectrum, the four-time league MVP is fouling on just 6 percent of his shots this season, the eighth-highest foul rate among 34 players taking 70 or more shots in 2023-24.
James brought up his free throw total after Monday’s game, unhappy with the officiating staff’s explanation for not taking any free throws.
One of the missed calls James cited — Heat center Thomas Bryant making contact with his own face when he missed a dunk attempt with 1:01 left in the third quarter — was one of the missed calls James cited, sources said. is one of the clips the Lakers shared with the NBA.
“What they told me was inconsistent with what was actually happening on the court,” James said. “When I was trying to dunk on Thomas Bryant, he obviously put his elbow – like his arm right in my face. I asked him for an explanation – well, one of the referees said he stood up straight, Hands straight. In the air. Two referees said they were blocked, they didn’t see it.”
Lakers head coach Davin Hamm was assessed his first technical foul of the season and the third technical foul of his career for disputing James’ no-penalty call with 39 seconds left in the third quarter.
“I saw LeBron take four free throws,” Ham said after the game, “and the number of times he attacked the rim, the number of times he got slapped on the arm, I could see it all because it wasn’t a call. Man…he didn’t fall. I watched him stay strong in the hole.”
The Lakers also set up a sequence midway through the second quarter when Heat guard Duncan Robinson appeared to push James from behind, and the 19-time All-Star pushed the ball in transition but failed to make the move, sources said. Any penalty.
“I mean, I don’t know what to say,” James said angrily after Los Angeles lost 3-4 this season. “I would respectfully go up to them and tell them what happened in the game, and I would go to the free throw line three or four times a game. Sometimes I wouldn’t even go at all, which was weird.”
James has attempted four or fewer free throws in three of the Lakers’ seven games this season, including four in Monday’s game at Miami.
“So just keep driving, keep putting pressure on the rim and see if it turns,” James said. “But we did have some tough breaks tonight that went against us tonight.”