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Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James is going viral after it was discovered that the NBA legend deleted a playoff promise from the 2021-22 postseason. The NBA Central Twitter account posted a screen shot of James’ April 22, 2022 tweet when the Lakers star vowed to never miss the postseason again during his career.
“I can/will NOT miss the post season again for my career!” James now-deleted tweet read. “This s*** HURT. Ok back to watching these games.”
According to Silver Screen and Roll, the tweet was still live during Christmas, and it appears James deleted the message in recent days following the holiday. Through the first 34 games, the Lakers are the third worst Western Conference team at No. 13 in the standings and would not even make the play-in tournament. To make matters worse, the Lakers’ 2023 draft pick is slated to go to the Pelicans as part of the blockbuster Anthony Davis trade from 2019.
Davis Does Not Have a Return Timeline
There is a bit of a silver lining in that the Lakers have played better in recent weeks after their dreadful start to the season. Los Angeles still faces an uphill battle to make the playoffs, especially with Davis expected to miss extended time with a “stress injury.”
“Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis has had a subsiding of pain in his right foot stress injury and is expected to re-evaluate the possibility of resuming play after another seven-to-10 days of rest, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Friday,” ESPN’s Dave McMenamin and Adrian Wojnarowski wrote on December 23.
“…The Lakers and Davis will remain cautious on the injury, but there’s hope that there could be a pathway to resuming play sometime shortly after the re-evaluation in early January.”
LeBron Appears to Have Serious Doubts That the Lakers Will Make the Playoffs
Throughout the season, James has sent subtle messages to the Lakers front office to make moves. One of the most pivotal trade decisions the Lakers will make is whether the team will move their two available future first-round draft picks for 2027 and 2029 to improve the current roster.
Thus far, the Lakers have been hesitant to trade these draft selections with plenty of skepticism about whether there is an available move that will once again turn Los Angeles into a contender. After the Lakers’ win over the Mavericks on Christmas Day, James admitted there is a reason to be skeptical on whether Los Angeles will be able to overcome their current record.
“I think I look at it that way,” James told reporters during a December 25 postgame press conference. “I look at it the other way, too, like, how many times are you going to try to dig yourselves out until it’s too much dirt on you?”
James’ deleted tweet may seem insignificant, but it shows the star likely has serious doubts that the Lakers will return to the playoffs this season. The superstar signed a two-year contract extension with the Lakers this past offseason prompting many to speculate there was a “wink-wink” deal that general manager Rob Pelinka would trade future draft picks to improve the current roster. Time is running out for Los Angeles to make a significant move before the NBA trade deadline passes on February 9, 2023.
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