Getty Images LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers defends Jae Crowder of the Phoenix Suns.
Phoenix Suns forward Jae Crowder had words for Los Angeles Lakers assistant coach Phil Handy and Golden State Warriors veteran Draymond Green after they poked fun at him on social media for “popping champagne after a first-round victory.”
The post that caused the stir was from Cuffs the Legend, a friend of Lakers star LeBron James who identifies himself as an NBA analyst insider in his social media bio. The post — which featured a photo of Crowder’s now-infamous salsa dance —read: “I didn’t wanna do this because I was rooting hard for Phoenix. But it’s not wise to pop champagne after a 1st round victory #JigHovering.”
A little background: Crowder was ejected in the final moments of the Suns’ first-round victory against the Lakers for mocking the defending champs — in particular James — with a salsa dance. It was a bit of revenge for what the Lakers did to him in Game 3. The sideline antics were led by Lakers center Andre Drummond, who mocked Crowder as James was backing him down for a bucket. At that point, it looked like the Lakers would take control of the series, going up 2-1 with a 14-point victory. However, Anthony Davis got injured and things went downhill in a hurry for the Lakers, not winning another game in the series.
“I don’t know if y’all remember Game 3. They did a lot on the sideline during Game 3 and that ruffled a lot of feathers on our side. That gave us an extra spark and some motivation. That’s all it was,” Crowder said recently on The Jump. “Those last 30 seconds when those guys were done, we were chasing that feeling. Once we got it, you saw the rest of it — the salsa dancing and the trash talking. But we waited until the last 30 seconds of defeat to let our trash-talking do the talking. That’s what you saw.”
Jae Crowder addresses his salsa dance from the Lakers’ series🕺
“They did a LOT on the sidelines in Game 3. That ruffled a lot of feathers on our side.”
Handy to Crowder: ‘We’ll Remember That S–t’
The post received a ton of response, with the comments from Handy and Green drawing Crowder’s attention.
“‘Aint no fun when the rabbit got the gun,'” Handy wrote, referencing an Instagram post Crowder made following the season that trolled James. “We will remember that s–t.”
Jae Crowder getting into it with Lakers assistant Phil Handy and Draymond Green over his salsa dance and ‘rabbit got the gun’ IG comments after the Suns beat the Lakers 👀
Crowder shot back with: “GLAD YALL WILL! I’LL REMEMBER GAME 3 AND THE ANTICS AS WELL.”
Handy responded politely to Crowder’s message, albeit there was a small shot about coming up short against the Milwaukee Bucks in the Finals.
“You know I always got love for you young buck but win one first then you can talk all you want. Good run!” Handy wrote.
Crowder simply wasn’t having it.
“CAN & WILL TALK WHENEVER AND AINT NOBODY GONE SAT OTHERWISE!” Crowder wrote. “YOU GOT MY #. HIT MY LINE BEFORE YOU SPEAK ON MY NAME ON A APP!”