It doesn’t take much for LakeShow to debate whether LeBron James deserves a statue on their turf or not. Tonight is not going to improve his case. The Los Angeles Lakers were heavily favored to advance to the NBA Cup semifinals. They had LeBron James, Luka Doncic, and Austin Reaves, with a mostly healthy rotation. The San Antonio Spurs missed their star player in Victor Wembanyama. Yet the Spurs pulled an upset with a 119-132 win. Obviously, Lakers Nation is not happy.

Stephon Castle and Harrison Barnes took advantage of the Lakers’ usual disease, a lack of perimeter defense. Yet the brunt of the anger is directed at LeBron.

James had 19 points along with a game-high 15 rebounds and eight assists. Luka Doncic was the top scorer of the night with 35 points. Marcus Smart had his season-best 26 points.

But it was most of the Lakers squad that were below expectations. Austin Reaves only had 15 and Rui Hachimura had eight points. Most of the bench only scored in single digits.

Without the pressure of his double-digit streak, Bron is putting up good numbers. His efficiency, though, leaves a little to be desired. He was 7 for 14 from the field tonight and zero from deep. He made all but one of his six free throws.

The Lakers’ loss can’t be solely blamed on him but he’s the leader, so to speak. From staying in the game to extend his scoring streak to holding Reaves back, fans have leveled a lot of accusations against LeBron. And these accusations apparently disqualify him for a statue in the Crypto.com Arena.

Lakers fans have a resounding decision on LeBron James’ statue

A day before the Lakers fell out of NBA Cup contention, a poll ran on X.com. “Should the Lakers build a statue for LeBron?” fans were asked. 75.6% voted No. LeBron James has been with the Lakers since 2018 and has won one championship. But he’s still mostly the ‘Kid from Akron’ who is not necessarily a franchise star for the Lakers.

His resume in Purple & Gold can be summed up in a single line. “hell nah. he’s been there 7yrs with only 1 successful szn in a bubble. stop it.” He’s also brought the inaugural NBA Cup banner in 2023 but most don’t care for it.

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Others discount his accomplishments with a longer list of ‘failures’ that included missed playoffs and the sweep in the 2023 Western Conference Finals to throw a bitter, “What did he do for the Lakers to warrant such an attribute?”

Even Byron Scott didn’t think King James deserved a statue a couple of months ago, among his Showtime teammates, Kareem and Magic. His sentiments were largely echoed by fans who say, “for what! nothing has happen greater than Kobe or Magic….”

Tonight especially embittered Lakers fans to Bron as they saw Austin Reaves slip into the third option role. When Luka Doncic was not around, he had 44 points. Without Doncic and James, AR averages 41.0 PPG. He and Doncic combine for the highest offensive rating in the league.

At 41 years old, LeBron has shifted to the jump shot. Largely why his efficiency from the 3-point line is not the best. Austin is used to meeting James in the paint and making one of their insane alley-oop passes. When he’s not around, Luka facilitates the shots and AR15 is the thriving second option. Then LeBron comes back and Reaves is struggling to find his offense.

Lakers fans were actually enjoying watching Reaves’ explosion. His is a true underdog story who went from undrafted to making sure he entered the franchise he grew up watching Kobe Bryant play for. This is the kind of storyline the Lakers fans want for a franchise star. They don’t like that Bron foiled it.

The most LakeShow will give Bron is a jersey retirement here. If there is any place that James deserves a monument, it’s in his old stomping grounds. As the kinder ones put it, “Absolutely not!! Cleveland should though.”