LeBron James isn’t great, and his failure to get off a shot in the final moments of the Lakers’ season-ending loss to the Nuggets is proof of that, former NBA center Kwame Brown explained in a bizarre online rant.
‘I have never seen a guy of your caliber, supposed caliber, you don’t even get a shot off?’ the 41-year-old Brown said in a self-shot video. ‘You’re probably the best scorer in the game, you got all these points. But you were looking for a bailout, again.
‘If I had a LeBron James jersey, I’d be burning it right now,’ Brown added.
The Lakers were swept by the top-seeded Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals, but had a chance to extend the series in the waning moments of Game 4 until James was locked up by Denver’s Aaron Gordon and Jamal Murray on LA’s final possession.
The first high school player to be taken with the top pick of the NBA Draft, Brown is considered by many to be a bust, and even referred to himself as ‘the bust’ in his video. He did, however, play alongside several greats, including Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Gilbert Arenas and Richard Hamilton.
WARNING: EXPLICIT LANGUAGE
LeBron James isn’t great, and his failure to get off a shot in the final moments of the Lakers’ season-ending loss to the Nuggets is proof, former Wizards center Kwame Brown said
LeBron James had a chance at the end of Game 4, but was unable to get off a shot at the end
‘You are a great player, you got good stats, you played longer than anybody, you a bad mother***er, but you not that,’ Brown said as he drove his SUV in the self-shot video. ‘I played with Kobe, I played with Richard Hamilton – he would have got a shot off. Hell, Gilbert Arenas would have got a shot off. You didn’t even get a shot off.’
Brown also joined the chorus of critics accusing James of flopping during the Nuggets series.
‘I played with [Jordan],’ Brown said of his former Washington Wizards teammate. ‘I’ve never seen MJ flop all the way to the Godd*** sideline… Maybe you need to do movies from here on out and go do the Matrix sequel so you can flop your way out of bounds.’
Brown’s 13-year NBA career ended in 2014, albeit after he earned $63 million, while James is currently deciding if he’s going to return for a 21st NBA season in 2023-24.
Brown is seen playing against James with the Pistons in 2009 (left) and Lakers in 2006 (right)
Following Monday’s loss, James admitted that he has ‘a lot to think about’ regarding his future with in the NBA and with the Lakers.
Reports followed suggesting that the 38-year-old was indeed considering retirement and if he does carry on, he was uncertain it would be with the Lakers.
However, a source close to James has revealed to DailyMail.com that an impending retirement for the four-time MVP is in fact ‘unfathomable’ and not on the cards.
Instead, they claim James is using the media circus around his retirement to distract from the sweep, and inspire the Lakers front office to revamp the roster before next season.