LA Lakers fans are not happy with San Antonio Spurs forward Jeremy Sochan, who called out LeBron James for flopping. James drew an offensive foul on Nikola Jokic in the fourth quarter, which "The King" sold very well, and the referees bought it.
With about 10 minutes left in the final period, James tipped a pass by Jokic. The two-time MVP made contact with the Lakers superstar's face, and the officials called the offensive foul.
Replays showed that the contact to James' face was minimal, and he just flopped his way into the stands. It might even be the worst flop of the postseason so far, and it went against the Lakers' stance on people critical with their foul baiting.
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Fans on Twitter were simply ruthless on LeBron James, who made a statement about flopping just last week. One of those critical of "The King" was Jeremy Sochan of the San Antonio Spurs.
However, LA Lakers fans came into James' defense, with one fan saying:
"I don’t even know who that is."
Here are other reactions to Sochan's comments on "The King":
Flopping has been an issue plaguing the NBA over the years. It was put into spotlight by Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr during their second round matchup against the LA Lakers.
"I think we should address it, because the players are so smart, and the entire regular season is about gamesmanship and trying to fool the refs," Kerr said. "And this is how it's been for a while, and it’s up to us as a league. ... I think we can do better in terms of cleaning up the flopping. In the meantime, I give the Lakers credit for the plays that they've been able to sell."
LeBron James, Darvin Ham respond to flopping allegations from Steve Kerr
LeBron James and Darvin Ham responded to Steve Kerr's allegations of flopping earlier this month. James was adamant that the teams he has played for are not floppers.
"We're just not a team that goes out there looking for flopping opportunities," James said. "That's just not us. It's actually never been any team I've played on in my 20 years."
Coach Darvin Ham, meanwhile, called their brand of basketball physical and doesn't tell his players to flop.
"We play a physical brand of basketball," Ham said. "We don't teach flopping. We don't teach head snaps."
Regardless of what you think about LeBron James and flopping, it's difficult to argue that he didn't flop against Nikola Jokic. Karma also bit back "The King" as Jokic did the same thing later in the game.
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