Did LeBron James purposely knock over a referee?
It all began when Luka Dončić was ejected Tuesday late from a tight game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Oklahoma City Thunder.
It was the result of his comment to a fan in the Oklahoma City stands that referee J.T. Orr thought was directed at him.
The Lakers led 109-108 at the time of the ejection. The team would meltdown from there.
The Thunder finished the game on a 28-11 run to secure a 136-120 win and deliver a blow to the Lakers in their fight for higher seeding in a tightly packed Western Conference playoff race.
In the fourth quarter, there was a moment when LeBron James brought the ball up the court while being guarded.
The defense caused him to lose control of the basketball, which made him chase it as it went out of bounds.
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LeBron would then run over a ref and knock him down to the ground.
LeBron think he slick. He got revenge on the referees after they kicked Luka out 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/5JQwz7LcQl
— Hater Report (@HaterReport_) April 9, 2025
Fans were convinced he did it on purpose after Luka got ejected.
“Good tactic, LeBron!” one fan said.
Good tactic LeBron !
— Joeycrypto🐍🇺🇸🎮🤝🤖 (@encrypyted_2J) April 9, 2025
“that’s the same thing I was thinking. i mean look how fast he 180 turns and starts speed walkin,” another fan stated.
that’s the same thing I was thinking. i mean look how fast he 180 turns and starts speed walkin
— scheme (@tigerwav) April 9, 2025
“he really didn’t let that slide lmaooo king really just straight up petty,” another fan said of LeBron James.
he really didn't let that slide lmaooo king really just straight up petty
— 🔞Rayne-Arts (@ArtsRayne) April 9, 2025
“For real, he did that on purpose 🤣😂,” a fourth fan added.
For real, he did that on purpose 🤣😂
— Prince (@Princedommm) April 9, 2025
One final fan stated: ‘Didn’t even help that man out. Very calculated, this LeBron 😂 vet move.”
Didn’t even help that man out. Very calculated, this LeBron 😂 vet move
— Condoriano Ken (@kdazilma) April 9, 2025
LeBron James Says Lakers-Thunder Got ‘Weird As Hell’ After Luka Was Ejected
The Lakers had something to play against the Thunder, but guard Luka Doncic was hit with a critical technical foul and thrown out.
During the fourth quarter, Doncic exchanged words with a fan and was controversially called for a technical foul because “he looked directly at an official and used vulgar language,” according to the pool report after the game.
The Lakers had just taken a 108-107 lead on a jumper from Doncic before he was removed from the game.
After the game, LeBron James said he did not understand why the referee was “taking it personal,” and said the game became weird.
“It was a weird couple minutes after that, starting with the ejection,” James told reporters after the game. “I don’t know why the ref was taking it personal. He had already gave Luka one and Luka knew that. Luka was going back and forth at the time with the fan who was sitting courtside, like Luka does. The fans get to talk s—, talk out of their mind, whatever the case may be, and Luka was going back and forth, and the ref took it upon himself to think it was vs. him or whatever the case may be. But then another T on Vando after a blocked shot. This game was just weird as hell after that moment.”
