USA Today via Reuters
Dec 22, 2020; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) reacts after receiving 2020 NBA Championship ring before a game against the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
USA Today via Reuters
Dec 22, 2020; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) reacts after receiving 2020 NBA Championship ring before a game against the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James has been frequently criticized for his free throw shooting. During last night’s game against the Mavericks, his poor free-throws went from bad to worse when he airballed one of them.
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Later, during the press conference, he had a comical excuse for that miss. “I told you the other night when I drink the wine goes straight down to the left side of my body. Tonight, I shot the free throw with my right hand, so that had bad side-effects,” said James.
“So I’ll see if I can drink some wine, if I can shoot it down to the right side of my body, maybe that’ll help with my free throws and give me a little more strength to where it doesn’t hit absolutely nothing. We’ll see what happens. Maybe I need to drink upside down tonight, maybe, vampire style. We’ll see.”
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LeBron James blamed the airball on the wine 😂🍷 pic.twitter.com/JSAAR8D1zj
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 26, 2020
Free throw shooting: LeBron James’ Achilles heel
LeBron is one of the best players of all-time. So it is surprising how he has never improved his biggest weakness. When it comes to the dying minutes of a close game, his free throws have been a liability. Last season, he shot 19-30 which is just 63% when it came to clutch free throws.
In his 18 years in the NBA so far, he hasn’t had a single season shooting above 80% from the charity stripe. Surprisingly, he is now getting worse. In his last two seasons, LeBron shot lesser than 70% from the free throw line. Despite these poor numbers, he is able to make the big shots when it matters. As long as it is not from the free throw line.
LeBron airball free throw. 💀💀pic.twitter.com/h0uKIrESFL
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) December 26, 2020
Can Bron lead the Lakers to back-to-back titles?
The Lakers started with an opening day loss to their rivals Clippers. It was a repeat of the 2019-20 season opener, and the Lakers once again looked to be a bit too relaxed. They showed they mean business in last night’s victory against the Mavericks.
LeBron will be aiming to repeat and bring home another title for the Lakers. They have a stronger roster this time and it will be their title to lose.
ALSO READ – ‘Not Your Typical Guy in His 18th Season’: LeBron James Opens up on His Playing Time
USA Today via Reuters
Dec 25, 2020; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) drives past Dallas Mavericks forward Dorian Finney-Smith (10) and Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Doncic (77) for a basket in the first quarter of the game at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
