Media

Damian Lillard insinuates Lakers were trash before LeBron James arrived during heated exchange with fan

Published by
Brad Sullivan

Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard offered a biting assessment of the pre-LeBron James version of the Los Angeles Lakers during a social media dispute with a Lakers fan.

The exchange began when the detractor took a shot at Lillard for the Trail Blazers’ eighth-place playoff berth in the Western Conference standings. That status resulted in a first-round matchup between the Trail Blazers and Lakers, which the Lakers won in five games.

Lillard’s response pointed out the miserable performance of the Lakers over much of the last decade, with this year marking the first time since 2013 that the team has reached the postseason.

The worst of those seasons took place during the 2015-16 campaign, when the Lakers finished with a 17-65 mark, second-worst among all NBA teams for that season.

In 2018, the Lakers acquired James in free agency, but an injury-plagued first season for the veteran resulted in a 37-45 record for the team. James ended up playing in a career-low 55 games last season, which helped once again keep the Lakers out of the postseason.

However, a resurgent James and the addition of superstar forward Anthony Davis helped the Lakers bounce back this season with the best regular season record in the Western Conference at 52-19.

Wednesday night’s 116-98 victory over the Miami Heat in Game 1 of the NBA Finals no doubt further energized the Lakers fan, though it remains to be seen if Lillard chooses to once again interact with that person.

Brad Sullivan

Brad is a freelance writer for LakersDaily.com, who can clearly recall watching Lakers games in 1972 as they captured the first of their 11 Los Angeles-based titles. The franchise's evolution into a beloved and iconic franchise among its fan base since that memorable year allows for a wider perspective to be a part of his writing about the team's current fortunes.

Published by
Brad Sullivan

Recent Posts

Ex-Lakers guard tells Julius Randle to ‘pass the damn ball’ following ugly sequence involving Rudy Gobert

In the fourth quarter of the Minnesota Timberwolves' loss to the Toronto Raptors on Thursday,…

November 22, 2024

5-time NBA champion says ‘no real fans care’ about Lakers’ success in NBA Cup

The Los Angeles Lakers have started their NBA Cup schedule off on the right foot…

November 21, 2024

LeBron makes stunning announcement as he takes step back on social media

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James uploaded a screenshot of a social media post on…

November 20, 2024

Private message revealed that Austin Reaves sent Dalton Knecht before they knew they’d be teammates

Los Angeles Lakers players Austin Reaves and Dalton Knecht were familiar with one another before…

November 20, 2024

Iman Shumpert says LeBron ruined today’s game by forming superteams

The proliferation of superteams in the NBA arguably became normalized once LeBron James teamed up…

November 19, 2024

Shaq says he’ll fight Dwight Howard under certain conditions

Dwight Howard has a compelling case to one day be enshrined in the Naismith Memorial…

November 18, 2024