On Tuesday, for almost two weeks after the league’s top issues and controversies both on and off the court regarding Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James complaining publicly about this year’s exhausting season – NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal offered a sobering word to him.
LeBron’s tweet made a headline after he voices out about opposing the quick turnaround following the conclusion of the 2020 NBA season, which ended him and the Lakers winning a championship ring, O’Neal then attempted to offer some perspective to James.
James looks after the well-being of the players concerning the number of injuries that has seen in traditional basketball heavyweights knocked out of the playoffs this year.
After his team was knocked out of the postseason in the first round. the Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James tweeted “They all didn’t want to listen to me about the start of the season. I knew exactly what would happen”, he also said “I only wanted to protect the well-being of the players which ultimately is the PRODUCT & BENEFIT of OUR GAME! These injuries aren’t just ‘PART OF THE GAME,” the 36-year-old Lakers star added. “It’s the lack of PURE RIM REST before starting back up.”
As James added “8, possibly 9 ALL-STARS has missed Playoff games (most in history league)” – He felt bad about it.
According to Side-Line Sources report:
“LeBron recently took to Twitter to voice his opinions on the Shortened offseason between the NBA bubble and this current season. He blamed the injuries sustained by stars this season on the short turnaround, something that he had worried about when it was first announced.
The NBA ended up having about an 8-week break between the 2020 Finals and the beginning of this current season. This is extremely short compared to the average offseason, and many concerns were lobbied as a result. LeBron was one of those who expressed distaste for the decision. In the end, the league and NBPA agreed on a December start date despite concerns.
Many agreed that it seemed like there were more injuries than usual this year. The NBA released injury data about two-thirds of the way through the year that showed the opposite though. This came as quite a shock to many that felt there were more injuries than usual this year.”
He also added “This is the best time of the year for our league and fans but missing a ton of our fav players. It’s insane. If there’s one person that knows about the body and how it works all year round it’s ME!” he concluded. “I speak for the health of all our players and I hate to see these many injuries this time of the year. Sorry fans wish you guys were seeing all your fav guys right now.”
They all didn’t wanna listen to me about the start of the season. I knew exactly what would happen. I only wanted to protect the well being of the players which ultimately is the PRODUCT & BENEFIT of OUR GAME! These injuries isn’t just “PART OF THE GAME”. It’s the lack of PURE
— LeBron James (@KingJames) June 16, 2021
RIM REST rest before starting back up. 8, possibly 9 ALL-STARS has missed Playoff games(most in league history). This is the best time of the year for our league and fans but missing a ton of our fav players. It’s insane. If there’s one person that know about the body and how it
— LeBron James (@KingJames) June 16, 2021
works all year round it’s ME! I speak for the health of all our players and I hate to see this many injuries this time of the year. Sorry fans wish you guys were seeing all your fav guys right now. 🙏🏾👑
— LeBron James (@KingJames) June 16, 2021
O’Neal pointed out Tuesday on CNBC, about James being paid a whopping $39 million to play basketball this season – is living in an echo chamber.
Here’s an excerpt from CNBC report:
“When you’re living in a world where 40 million people have been laid off and I’m making $200 million, you won’t get no complaining from me,” O’Neal said. “I’d play back to back to back to back to back,” he added.
“I’m not knocking what anybody said, but me personally, I don’t complain and make excuses, because real people are working their tail off and all we got to do is train two hours a day and then play a game for two hours at night and make a lot of money … So, my thought process is a little different.”
O’Neal’s comments come after James’ criticism that the schedule was at fault for the plethora of high-profile injuries this year, a claim the league has disputed.”
The Hall of Famer noted that while high-paid athletes such as James complain, millions of Americans would love to have their sense of financial and job security. O’Neal, of course, played in a different era — even if that era wasn’t so long ago.
O’Neal — who is a friend of law enforcement officers nationwide, in contrast with James — also pointed out the bright side of the recent injuries in the NBA.
“This is the first time in a while that juggernauts have been gone,” he told CNBC.
In fact, as of Wednesday, only the Los Angeles Clippers, the Phoenix Suns, the Milwaukee Bucks and the Atlanta Hawks remain in contention for the title. Maybe that’s not such a bad thing for a game controlled by only a few large-market teams for many years.
As O’Neal said, “May the best team win.”
Big-name stars such as James, Kevin Durant, James Harden, Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving are now sitting around with fans waiting for a league champion to be crowned.
O’Neal appeared as though he’d like to see those stars, particularly James, use their offseason to find a little bit of humility and perspective. Injuries are a part of the game for players, but their paychecks never stop coming in.
The same can’t be said for the everyday people who have seen their lives upended throughout the last year by situations beyond their control.
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Sources: sidelinesources, westernjournal, CNBC