A video emerged of LeBron James and Russell Westbrook arguing with fans during a loss to the Pelicans
LeBron James & Russell Westbrook frustrated with the Lakers' struggles
The Lakers dropped their second straight game and 33rd game of the season to the New Orleans Pelicans (123-95) on Sunday. While their embarrassing performance is certainly something to ponder, something else happened on the same night.
Lakers LeBron James, Trevor Ariza, and Russell Westbrook were caught on camera trash-talking with fans in attendance on Sunday. The fans, who yelled out boos throughout the game, didn’t appreciate the Lakers’ effort, so they made their voices heard by heckling the players.
A hostile environment
As seen in the clip above, James was yelling and arguing that the fan does not know anything about basketball besides the ball going in and out of the basket. The King also told the fan to “shut yo ass up” in response to whatever the fan was yelling.
Afterward, Ariza was also caught screaming from the bench at a fan as the forward spitted foul language directed to the heckler.
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Westbrook was also seen screaming “go home” at the fan. It’s safe to assume that none of the players and fans were happy Sunday night.
An embarrassing moment for both sides
There’s no question that James, Ariza, and Westbrook all should’ve performed better against a Zion Williamson-less Pelicans team that’s barely in the Playoff race. The Lakers were just outrun on the floor and couldn’t score against one of the worst defensive teams in the league.
Thanks to CJ McCollum’s 22 points and Brandon Ingram’s 19 point revenge game against his former team, the Pelicans nabbed their 25th victory this season. Their performance against the Lakers was arguably their best game this season, and it’s fair to say that L.A. hit rock bottom once again after Sunday’s loss.
So it makes sense why Lakers fans weren’t happy. Lakers fans are known to be entitled and are not shy to express their feelings against the team, especially when they play as they did. This is the Lakers’ seventh loss in the last ten games, and at this point, both parties are just tired of losing.
This is what happens when a so-called championship contender fails to meet expectations. It’s going to be ugly because nobody is happy. So while both the fans and players are considered wrong from jawing at each other, at the end of the day, this has always been part of the game. So it’s unfortunate for the Lakers and fanbase to see this moment unfold.
