Former NBA player Eddie Johnson had a long NBA career, and he recently came to the defense of Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James.
Another former NBA player, Rashad McCants, recently took shots at James and the Lakers for getting swept in the second round of the playoffs by the Oklahoma City Thunder.
It's Rashad vs everyone in Gil's Arena for thinking it was embarrassing for the Lakers to get swept 👀
"OKC didn't do nothing special to prove that the Lakers couldn't win 2-3 games. The Lakers are not a well coached team." pic.twitter.com/mZHXrUNotR
— Gil’s Arena (@GilsArenaShow) May 12, 2026
Johnson took to social media to defend the 41-year-old forward, pointing out that McCants had a rather short NBA career after he was taken with the 14th pick in the 2005 NBA Draft.
Out the league at 24 and ripping a 41 year old about his failures.
— Eddie A Johnson (@Jumpshot8) May 12, 2026
McCants was in the NBA from the 2005-06 season through the 2008-09 season. He played for both the Minnesota Timberwolves and Sacramento Kings, averaging 10.0 points per game while shooting 43.1 percent from the field.
The former lottery pick is often critical of James and also believes that the future Hall of Famer has failed as a No. 1 option during his L.A. tenure.
While McCants seems to think that James and the Lakers should’ve taken at least one game the defending champs in the second round, it’s important to note that the Lakers were undermanned all series long.
Los Angeles was without star guard Luka Doncic, who averaged 33.5 points, 7.7 rebounds and 8.3 assists per game while shooting 47.6 percent from the field and 36.6 percent from 3-point range in the regular season.
Doncic missed the entire postseason run for the Lakers while recovering from a hamstring injury, putting more pressure on James and Austin Reaves to deliver for the team. Reaves (oblique) also missed the first four games of the playoffs, but the Lakers won three of those matchups against the Houston Rockets thanks to some strong play from James.
A four-time champion, James was the Lakers’ best player during their playoff run this season, averaging 23.2 points, 6.7 rebounds and 7.3 assists per game. He averaged 23.3 points per contest in four games against OKC, scoring at least 19 points in every matchup.
The Lakers – the No. 4 seed in the West – ultimately couldn’t hang with the defending champs, who won three of the four games in the sweep by double digits. Still, the Lakers made a pretty impressive run considering the fact that Doncic did not suit up in a single postseason game.
McCants may want to continue to question James and the Lakers, but Johnson clearly put things in perspective by showing just how impressive it is that James is still an All-Star level player at 41 years old.
