Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James continues to receive criticism for his crucial mistake in their loss to the Chicago Bulls on Thursday night.
James committed a crucial turnover with 9.8 seconds left in the game, right after the Bulls cut the Lakers’ lead to just two points. The veteran forward was inbounding the ball, but his rather weak pass to Austin Reaves allowed Bulls guard Josh Giddey to steal possession.
Giddey quickly passed the ball to Coby White, who then drained a 3-pointer to give Chicago the 116-115 lead. While the Lakers were able to score one more after that and only lost due to Giddey’s buzzer-beating game-winner from half-court, they likely wouldn’t have been in a losing situation had James not caused the turnover.
Fans were quick to blame James for the loss, with ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith also calling his “lazy” pass “unacceptable.”
Following the game, several critics also gave James a new nickname in relation to his crucial turnover. Many were quick to call him the GOAT, but with a rather different meaning.
“I knew it. Lebron James is the GOAT. Greatest Of All Turnovers,” a commenter wrote on Facebook.
A second one wrote on X, “Lebron James is the GOAT. Greatest Of All Turnovers”—a sentiment shared by another user.
A critic added, “Two of the three 3-pointers made were in LeBrons face and the other was due to his turnover. Truly a GOAT like performance (greatest of all turnovers).”
“Lebron the goat. Greatest of all travels. Greatest of all turnovers. Greatest of all tantrums,” a critical viewer added.
James finished the game with 17 points and 12 assists along with four turnovers. It was an overall solid game for the 40-year-old star; unfortunately, one of his mistakes proved to be the biggest turning point in the game.
The four-time NBA champion has a chance to redeem himself on Saturday when the Lakers return to action against the Memphis Grizzlies.
