Following the Los Angeles Lakers’ series-clinching win over the Golden State Warriors Friday night, LeBron James appeared to bark back at one Warriors player who took a shot at him during the series.
The Lakers won Game 6, 122-101, and James dropped 30 points with nine rebounds and nine assists.
In an Instagram post celebrating the win, James showed pictures in a reel of the matchup with this caption:
“I HATE IT! Started from the bottom, now we here, [ninja emoji], we made it! [crown emoji].”
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Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James, left, shoots as Golden State Warriors guard Jordan Poole defends during the first half in Game 3 of an NBA Western Conference semifinal May 6, 2023, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Why did he capitalize the first line? A song was played during the reel, a popular track called “Tuscan Leather” by rapper Drake, which includes the line, “Bench players talking like starters, I hate it.”
The reel cuts immediately after that line, and many believe that it was directed at Warriors bench player JaMychal Green.
LEBRON JAMES LEADS LAKERS TO WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS AS DEFENDING NBA CHAMPIONS ELIMINATED
Green had an Instagram story with a reposted image that showed a quote from James about flopping, which became a hot topic during the series.
“We don’t work on flopping. … We’re just not a team that goes out there and looking for flopping opportunities. It’s just not us. It’s never been. There’s actually never been any teams that I’ve played on in my 20 years where we’ve been a flopping team,” James said.
Green placed a blue cap emoji over James’ head in the picture, suggesting he believed James was lying.
JaMychal Green of the Golden State Warriors warms up before Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals of the 2023 NBA Playoffs against the Los Angeles Lakers May 10, 2023, at Chase Center in San Francisco. (Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images)
James never responded verbally in any interviews, but his post could be his response and acknowledgment he saw what Green said this whole time.
No matter the case, the Lakers are back in the Western Conference finals, which James and Anthony Davis reached in the bubble during the 2019-20 season when they won it all. James scored at least 21 points in every game against the Warriors, and the Lakers seem to be the hot team in the west after competing in the NBA play-in tournament.
James’ focus will now move to the Denver Nuggets, the Lakers’ opponent in the conference finals, after the Nuggets took care of the Phoenix Suns in six games.
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James gestures to a referee during the first half in Game 3 of an NBA Western Conference semifinal game against the Golden State Warriors May 6, 2023, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
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Game 1 of that series will tip off Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. ET.
