Getty Images LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Injured Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James is drawing some heat after he congratulated the Clippers in a tweet for beating his squad on Thursday as he watched from afar.
James did not attend the Lakers’ past two games home games — Wednesday against the Blazers and Thursday against the Clippers. Instead, James has been working away from the team in an effort to get back on the court after some troublesome swelling in his knee.
James watched his team claw back from a 17-point deficit but his first tweet following the 111-110 loss congratulated Clippers guard Reggie Jackson for his game-winner.
“Great Game,” James tweeted. “Mr. October with a big time shot to end it. Salute.”
Great Game!! Mr. October with a big time shot to end it. Salute
Anthony Davis had a chance to win the game at the buzzer but the shot rimmed out after looking like it was going down.
“I’m glad we’ve got an off day (on Friday),” Davis said after the heartbreaker, “because it’s definitely going to weigh on me a little bit.”
Fans Respond: ‘Kobe Would Never do That S–t’
Considering the Lakers situation at 25-28 and in the No. 9 spot in the Western Conference, James’ tweet didn’t exactly sit well with some of the team’s fans.
“How the hell you gonna congratulate the opposing player on a game winner when your team is four games below .500,” one response read. “Kobe would never do that s–t! Have some Laker pride!”
Another commenter wrote: “Wtf…Lebron giving props to the Clippers?! Ah hell nah, I’m going to bed, this world is upside down now.”
James did follow up his initial tweet with some words for his own team.
“Just needed 1 stop down the stretch! Bros battled though on the 2nd night of a [back to back],” James wrote.
Just needed 1 stop down the stretch! Bros battled though on the 2nd night of a b2b
Lakers Vague About James’ Injury, Possible Return Date
The Lakers have not announced an expected return date for James, who has had the “general swelling” in his left knee since January 27. He’s missed the past five games, with the Lakers going 1-4 in that span.
Despite the losses piling up and the team falling well below the .500 line, there are no plans to rush James back before he’s completely ready, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.
“He’s not going to play again until that swelling subsides. The Lakers are sticking by that plan,” McMenamin said during a spot on SportsCenter. “They believe if he plays with the swelling in there, he could be at risk of further injuring himself. I’m told from a source close to LeBron they are exploring all options when it comes to treatment except they have ruled out the possibility of PRP. He will not be going with PRP as part of his ramp up to try to get back on the court.”
New story: Reporting on LeBron James’ ailing left knee with @malika_andrews on NBA Today
James has looked superhuman over his nearly two decades in the NBA but has been slowed by injuries over the past two seasons. But when he’s on the court, James is playing at a super star level averaging 29.1 points per game and a whopping 36.6 minutes per contest — the most since his last year in Cleveland in 2017. A large load has been placed on James, especially during the month-plus that Anthony Davis was out.