Videos

Video: Jonas Valanciunas disrespectfully mocks LeBron James for being a flopper and crybaby

Published by
Peter Dewey

New Orleans Pelicans center Jonas Valanciunas took an interesting shot at Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James in a recent video.

Starting at the 2:10:17 mark of the video, Valanciunas begins his mocking of James after he picks up a card that has the superstar’s name on it.

Valanciunas then proceeds to mimic James by fake crying and pretending to flop to the ground. It’s surprising that the Pelicans center feels so negatively towards James.

James, who has been criticized for the occasional flop or for complaining to referees, probably won’t be bothered by Valanciunas’ cheap shot.

James was fantastic for the Lakers in the 2021-22 season even though he missed 26 games due to injury. The four-time NBA champion averaged 30.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 6.2 assists per game while shooting 52.4 percent from the field and 35.9 percent from beyond the arc.

Valanciunas, who played a critical role for the Pelicans in the 2021-22 campaign, averaged 17.8 points, 11.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 0.8 blocks per game while shooting 54.4 percent from the field and 36.1 percent from 3.

The Pelicans big man helped the team get into the playoffs after winning two games in the league’s play-in tournament.

James and Valanciunas have battled for a long time in their careers, dating back to Valanciunas’ time with the Toronto Raptors when James was on the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Despite that, it seems disrespectful to James that Valanciunas would mock him in such a way.

It will be interesting to see if James brings a little extra in his game when the Lakers and Pelicans face off in the 2022-23 season.

Peter Dewey

Peter is a graduate of Quinnipiac University where he covered the MAAC and college basketball for three years. He has worked for NBC Sports, the Connecticut Sun and the Meriden Record-Journal covering basketball and other major sports. Follow him on Twitter @peterdewey2.

Published by
Peter Dewey

Recent Posts

EXCLUSIVE: Inside the Lakers’ firing of Darvin Ham, their tumultuous season and where they go from here

Following a tumultuous season that ended in a gentlemen's sweep at the hands of the…

May 3, 2024

Did Kyrie imply that certain executives are why he didn’t end up with LeBron on Lakers?

Kyrie Irving has the Dallas Mavericks one win away from advancing to the second round…

May 3, 2024

Lakers insider starting to ‘hear some names’ regarding potential Darvin Ham replacements

The Los Angeles Lakers could move on from head coach Darvin Ham this week, according…

May 2, 2024

Draymond Green sounds off on critics blaming Darvin Ham: ‘I think that’s garbage’

The Los Angeles Lakers' 2023-24 NBA season came to an end when they lost Game…

May 1, 2024

NBA exec: LeBron James would have Tyronn Lue as his coach on Lakers if it were up to him

According to one Eastern Conference executive, Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James would want Los…

May 1, 2024

Darvin Ham apparently felt like Lakers starter was ’s—ting the bed’ in 10 straight games earlier this season

Los Angeles Lakers head coach Darvin Ham commented on the challenge of having so many…

April 30, 2024