Throughout the Los Angeles Lakers title run, there were a couple of players who were consistently slandered by fans. Those men were Kyle Kuzma and Danny Green. Kuzma was caught making some bizarre plays at times, while Green missed the shot that would have won the Lakers the title back in Game 5. In the end, it all worked out for everybody as the Lakers cruised in Game 6 and took the title.
Kuzma was the victim of a humorous petition demanding that he not get a title ring, while Snoop Dogg lashed out at Green with some harsh comments, following Game 5 of the Finals. During an appearance on the "Load Management" podcast via Complex, Lakers veteran Jared Dudley spoke about the fan response and how a lot of it was overblown. Dudley specifically expressed disappointment with Snoop Dogg, noting that if anyone has earned their place in the league, it's Danny Green.
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Per Dudley:
"Now, the petition is low-key kinda funny. Like, really?" Dudley said when speaking on the Kuzma petition. "Those aren’t true Laker fans, like Snoop Dogg calling out Danny Green and then when we win feeling good. Like this man Danny Green has won three championships on three different teams, being a starting shooting guard. Are we kidding? Like come on, man, like I agree, he missed a shot. He struggled at certain times, but the man is a career 40 (percent shooter).”
Despite all of the criticism, every single player on this Lakers team is now a champion, and that's all that really matters. Once they get that ring, all the criticism goes away, at least for a short period of time.
[Via]