LeBron James accused of being as violent as Draymond Green as he punches Jaren Jackson Jr. in the face
Fans are in uproar at the lack of punishment
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) and Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr. (13) reach for a loose ball during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Los Angeles, Friday, Jan. 5, 2024. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)AP
NBA fans have suggested that LeBron James is just as violent as Draymond Green after his incident with Jaren Jackson Jr.
The clash between the Los Angeles Lakers and Memphis Grizzlies ended up being a pretty violent affair at the Crypto.com Arena on Friday night.
LeBron was in the thick of a very controversial moment midway through the third quarter. Fans couldn’t believe that James was not called for a foul given he seemed to hit Jackson Jr in the face.
Jackson lost the ball against James. The two players jumped for it and scrambled on the floor, with the 39-year-old star recovering the rock.
Jenkins storms the court
This led Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins to storm onto the court in anger and he ended up getting called for a technical foul for interference.
A replay of LeBron James and Jaren Jackson Jr. going for the loose ball showed JJJ holding James' arm.
Should LeBron be penalized for the hit to JJJ? 🤔pic.twitter.com/Hroj05Eauh
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) January 6, 2024
Amidst the reaction to the incident, many fans were quick to compare LeBron to Draymond Green, who is suspended indefinitely after hitting Jusuf Nurkic in the face.
One fan said: “Draymond gets thrown in prison for that.”
Another matched the sentiment, saying: “If that was Draymond, that would be a 5-game suspension.”
One fan felt that there were two sides to the story, saying: “He was holding onto LeBron but LeBron shouldn’t have elbowed him in the face either.”
Jenkins said after the game to the press: “You can’t do that, so I take full responsibility there. I saw a tussle there, Jaren‘s clamping LeBron, then I saw something that crossed the line… I had to stand up for my guy.”
