In his 17th season in the league, LeBron James is still running the game quite nicely. As the most experienced player on the Los Angeles Lakers, LeBron has fit into his role as a leader and is helping the Lakers dominate night in and night out. The team currently boasts a record of 12-2 and it's been an absolute pleasure to watch all of their games. Not only are the highlights impressive but the Lakers also seem like a team comprised of friends who are excited to play with each other every night.
Despite all of this, there has been this bizarre narrative that LeBron doesn't play defense. James has been quick to make fun of these claims and on Tuesday night, he did just that with referee Marc Davis, after committing a foul.
James: “I know you can read and seeing I haven’t been playing defense the last couple of years, but it’s a new year. It’s a new year.”
Davis: “I have not said that. That has never come out of my mouth — [motions to inbound the ball] — that’s never come out of my mouth.”
Both parties seemed to laugh it off pretty quickly which just goes to show it was all tongue in cheek. Regardless, it's clear LeBron has something to prove this season and he's well on his way to doing just that.