Getty Image / Katharine Lotze
- LeBron James wasn’t a fan of the short offseason ahead of the NBA’s 2021 campaign.
- The NBPA director is pushing back against the Lakers’ star after his choice words.
- Check out more sports coverage at BroBible here.
LeBron James made headlines with a series of tweets – as he often does – back in June when he criticized the setup of the 2021 NBA season. James spoke out as many players around the league were picking up injuries and he blamed it on the short turnaround from last year’s season in the bubble and this season.
It’s worth noting that James’ tweets criticizing the NBA schedule came after the Lakers were bounced in round one of the playoffs.
James, regardless of how whiney he sounds, has every right to voice his frustrations. There’s no denying that seeing so many big-time players go down with injuries late in the season and throughout the playoffs has been a real bummer.
However, NBPA executive director Michele Roberts isn’t sitting back and taking the heat from James. She’s now pushing back against James’ criticism and wants to know that the decision for the shortened offseason wasn’t up to her or anyone else, it was up to the players.
“The recommendation to start in December came from the league,” Roberts told Yahoo Sports. “So the big ask was, could we start the games in December? And the answer was not yes from Michele. The decision to play or not to play comes from the players.”
Roberts didn’t directly address James, but she absolutely saw his tweets and it’s clear to put two-and-two- together here.
Every team around the league voted to return to play, including the Lakers. It would be interesting to know whether or not LeBron actually did vote against the quick turnaround, which his tweets suggest, or if it’s a hindsight is 20-20 situation and he was upset with Anthony Davis picking up an injury leading to the Lakers’ early playoff exit.