Getty LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers.
LeBron James took to Twitter with an apparent shot at Dillon Brooks on Saturday after the Los Angeles Lakers eliminated the Memphis Grizzlies.
James kept his cool during the series and didn’t respond to a deluge of trash talk from Brooks, who did his best to get the four-time MVP’s attention. But a day after ending the Grizzlies season, James fired off a tweet channeling some Jay Z lyrics that seemed fit for the situation.
“Unlike you little [expletive] I’m a grown a** man. Big shoes to fill [expletive], grown a** pants. Prolly hustled with your pops, go ask your parents,” James wrote. “It’s apparent you’re staring at a legend. Who, put a few little [expletive] in they place before. Trying to eat without saying they grace before!”
Unlike you little 🤬I’m a grown ass man
Big shoes to fill 🤬, grown ass pants
Prolly hustled with your pops, go ask your parents
Its apparent you’re staring at a legend
Who, put a few little 🤬in the they place before
Trying to eat without saying they grace before! 🤫👑
His send-off was the quiet emoji along with his patented crown.
LeBron James Said He Didn’t Need to Make Statement With Play
GettyLeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers.
James did his best to avoid the conflict with Brooks, who called him “old” and claimed he wouldn’t respect him until he scored 40 against him. But Brooks did little to back up his words, averaging 10.5 points in the series, shooting a miserable 31.2% from the field and 23.8% from beyond the arc. He also didn’t speak to the media after the loss.
Meanwhile, James was a monster and did all the little things to help the Lakers advance. The 38-year-old superstar averaged 22.2 points, 11.2 rebounds and 5.2 assists in the series.
“I’ve been doing this too long. I’ve made enough statements,” James said after a monster performance in Game 3, which came after the initial comments from Brooks. “I don’t need to make statements.”
James didn’t address the trash talk while speaking to the media but his co-star Anthony Davis made it clear that not responding was part of their plan.
“Obviously, that’s how a lot of times guys kind of get themselves going. When guys are constantly talking and you don’t say nothing back … they’re going to eventually stop,” Davis said on Friday after the win. “People are going to talk. We’ve had some trash talk on the court in the series, but all the talk in the media and all that stuff, we just go out and let our game talk and play basketball. We try not to get in a back-and-forth with guys.”
LeBron James, Lakers Focused on Championship
The Lakers are moving on but James knows their task is far from done. LA put to bed their boisterous opponent but now turn their sights on the Conference Semifinals, where they’ll see either the Golden State Warriors or Sacramento Kings.
James is the most experienced postseason player in NBA history, having played in 272 playoff games. He’s been through the playoff wars during his nearly two decades in the league and had a message for his team after advancing.
“We’ve got a young ballclub with not much experience in the postseason. So I try to give my knowledge about what I’ve been through, what they could expect,” James said in his postgame press conference. “As hard as this series felt and as hard as this series was, it gets even harder when you move a level up.”
The Lakers are currently +1,000 to win the title, per FanDuel odds.