The Lakers star took to Twitter in an elite “I Told You So” moment, railing against the league and seemingly blaming the Association for myriad injuries that have befallen star players in the 2021 NBA Playoffs.
James puts the onus of the injury epidemic on the league, saying that the problems have come from a lack of “rim rest” between the end of last season and the current one.
James’ tirade in its entirety:
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There’s been an All-Star team’s worth of talent to hit the shelf this postseason: Kyrie Irving, James Harden, Joel Embiid, Kawhi Leonard, Jamal Murray, Donovan Mitchell, Anthony Davis, Jaylen Brown and Mike Conley have all missed time with varying degrees of injuries.
Last offseason, James was very displeased with the short amount of time between the end of the NBA season and the start of the 2020-21 season, which was just 71 days from the last Finals game to the opening tip of the next season. The players wanted more time to rest, but the league was adamant that the season start around Christmas, one of the highest-rated days of the year.
Of course, 71 days off after a season that had been interrupted by the coronavirus and, therefore, elongated, isn’t the best for elite athletes.
With the 2020 Olympics around the corner and several NBA stars planning to participate, it will be interesting to see James’ response — and if more players will end up on the injured list — next year. James has already taken himself out of the running for this year’s Team USA.
Until then, though, James just wants to let you know: He was right.
