LeBron James is pulling no punches whatsoever after the latest injury to a superstar player.
The Los Angeles Lakers star went off on the league Wednesday after news broke of the knee injury to LA Clippers star Kawhi Leonard. In a series of tweets, James ranted about the NBA’s decision to play the 2020-21 campaign on the shortest offseason in league history.
“They all didn’t wanna listen to me about the start of the season,” he said. “I knew exactly what would happen. I only wanted to protect the well being of the players which ultimately is the PRODUCT & BENEFIT of OUR GAME! These injuries isn’t just “PART OF THE GAME”. It’s the lack of PURE RIM REST rest before starting back up.
“8, possibly 9 ALL-STARS missed Playoff games (most in league history),” added James. “This is the best time of the year for our league and fans but missing a ton of our fav players. It’s insane. If there’s one person that know about the body and how it works all year round it’s ME! I speak for the health of all our players and I hate to see this many injuries this time of the year. Sorry fans wish you guys were seeing all your fav guys right now.”
Last season’s Orlando bubble wrapped up on Oct. 11, and this season began on Dec. 22 for an offseason of just 72 days. The next shortest offseason in NBA history was 127 days before the 2017-18 campaign. Not coincidentally, the league has seen a dramatic rise in injuries this season, particularly of the soft tissue variety. In addition to Leonard, fellow stars like Anthony Davis, James Harden, Kyrie Irving, Joel Embiid, Jamal Murray and Mike Conley have already missed time during the playoffs.
As for James, he has kept that same energy about the shortened offseason throughout the year. Now he is not missing his chance to tell the NBA, “I told you so.”
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