Monday, February 27th, 2012 at 11:00 am  |  142 responses

LeBron James Regrets Not Taking Last Shot in All-Star Game


by Marcel Mutoni / @marcel_mutoni

Widely considered as the best player in the game, but having never won a championship, even an otherwise meaningless contest such as the NBA All-Star Game serves as some kind of referendum on your legacy.

Welcome to LeBron James’ life.

James coughed up the rock in the dying moments last night, his turnover ensuring a last-second victory for the East All-Stars, and everyone – fans, media, and even rivals on the court – wondered why LeBron didn’t hoist up a three-point attempt to tie the game.

According to LBJ, he screwed up the game’s final possession.

From the Akron Beacon Journal:

LeBron on final seconds of All-Star game: “(Kobe) was telling me to shoot it. I seen my teammate open for a split second. I seen him open the first time and I didn’t release the ball.”

“When I tried to throw it late, that’s what usually happens and it results in a turnover. Definitely wish I could have that one back.”

Truth be told, LeBron James wasn’t the only one who made errors late in the All-Star Game. Kobe Bryant missed a critical free throw that gave the East a chance to tie things up, James’ own teammate Dwyane Wade also had a costly fourth quarter turnover. But, all anyone will remember is what seemed like an unwillingness on LeBron’s part to play the role of closer (hero, alpha male, whatever …) that drives people who care about the NBA batty.

And, unfortunately, universal perceptions won’t change until LeBron James wins a title, while taking and making big-time shots along the way. It’s not fair, but hey, that’s life.

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  • Top$helf

    If he woulda took and made tht shot it coulda did a lot 4 his late game confidence not trying is always worse than failing

  • http://nba.com/celtics lights out

    best part of this story is that Kobe was telling him to shoot it. i’d give anything to hear the trash that Kobe talks to Wade and Bron.

  • kenbo

    Leave KOBE outta this HATERS lol

  • http://www.slamonline.com Cheryl

    Damn, y’all! It was the freakin all star game. And if you saw the same game I saw, then you know that the East was down 21 or 22 points. Give the guy credit for helping make it a watchable game. This (bashing Bron) is getting so old!

  • http://sajkfldl.com Jukai

    Judging from the comment section, I guess I’m the only one who isn’t that pissed that Lebron tried to pass to the unguarded man on the wing… what’s upsetting is the horrible pass, not the fact he did pass. Oh well.

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    What Tealish said.

  • jinolin

    LJ’s lack of clutch’ness is not only evident from shooting the game winner but more importantly to his decision process late in a game. The play for Williams was drawn up by Thibs, and I am not arguing with that play, the sequence following is another story,

    1. LJ is 6-8 260 and he has make a off balance one handed pass?
    2. He missed a open Melo (statistically the best shooter with 5 ticks or less).
    3. He Missed a open Williams (granted he missed the prior shot, still he was 8 for 10 from deep if I remember correctly).
    4. He found a semi-open teammate who was at a though passing angle (completely missing option A and B (Melo and Williams)).

    Then after the final timeout, he did the same thing looked over the best statistical options in order to pass to a teammate for a fade-away corner three with 1.1 left.

    I guess Miami tried to recruit more Floridians to become fans?

    LJ’s problem is that he has never been humbled in life and you can see it every time he speaks to the media, he has that quasi alpha male thing going, kinda like 90 percent of the rappers today (anyone see puffy the night before?) MJ was the real deal he was the man, AI who is dwarfed by everyone that was out on the court last night was the man, Beans is the man, arguably the only one left today.

    LJ needs to loose all the “Look at me for first 47 minutes thing” and concentrate on the 1 minute mark, when he can do that he will be the man.

  • http://juan.garcia@computershare.com POW

    Lights out: He imitates the weather forecaster on one of Dave Chapelles old show: “Kiss the Rings biiitchhh!!!”

  • http://juan.garcia@computershare.com POW

    If you remember Magic in 84 was called “Tragic Johnson” for not knowing how to handle the last seconds of a ball game. The very next year in the Finals, with an open Kareem near the hoop, he passed him up and shot a baby sky hook to defeat the Celtics. I’m sure at that point his thought process was “f_ck the pass… I’m gonna win this mopho right here!” and the rest was history.

  • http://juan.garcia@computershare.com POW

    If you remember Magic in 84 was called “Tragic Johnson” for not knowing how to handle the last seconds of a ball game. The very next year in the Finals, with an open Kareem near the hoop, he passed him up and shot a baby sky hook to defeat the Celtics. I’m sure at that point his thought process was “f_ck the pass… I’m gonna win this mopho right here!” … the rest was history.

  • http://slamonline house

    LeBron: where becoming the scapegoat for everyone else’s failings happen.

  • robb

    like I said, this is self sabotage, it has nothing to do with his ability to play the game, this is a mental issue. Hey Lebron, you deserve to be called the best, you deserve what you have, you deserve to be fully successful. Remember that Jordan quote? “I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed”. Go for it man, just go for it.

  • Kadavour

    i think the difference on his last attempt was that he knew it would be contested, whereas on his other attempts there weren’t even hands in his face, most times the defender was guarding the drive. late pass, that is all. in this case his clutch legacy has come to bite him in the ass, he just doesn’t like taking contested jumpers.

  • manu

    Jtaylor is an idiot

    AI shoots 43% for his career and is 6’0 playin against SGs
    Kobe shoots 45% and is 6’6 playin against SGs

    AI constantly had a height disadvantage playing SG yet still managed to shoot 2% less than a guy who is 6’6 at the same position…..4 scoring titles, mvp

    Theres a reason his peers say he was pound for pound the best ever

    Read a book

  • Dungeon Family

    Ya’ll Mad at Kobe for trying to Motivate Lebron?

    Ya’ll got some serious Issues

    THEY DON’T HATE EACH OTHER

  • Cizzo

    Almost won the allstar game..almost won a title last year..almost made it to the finals his last year in Cleveland…almost decided to talk the last second shot…Almost and all spectualtion with LBJ…..as usual…

  • kap250

    If he had taken the last shot, made it and won the game people would just say it was during a meaningless all-star game with no pressure. So I don’t see what the big deal is.

  • http://slamonline.com datkid

    people might jump on me for this, but I thought it was fine that he tried to pass it, he was being double and triple teamed right? it’s not his fault williams missed an open jumper. and yes a pass to melo would’ve been ideal but wade was still in better position than lebron to take the shot. that’s just my opinion tho, I could be wrong.

  • TeeD

    I don’t particularly care for LeBron, but people should cut the guy some slack. His decision making obviously needs improvement, but he played well. If he actually has that killer instinct that others have, this will probably help him find that. Also, nice to see Kobe & Melo trying to talk some sense into this guy.

  • robb

    he wasn’t triple teamed on that play

  • Hollywood26

    I’m sorry to say it but he is a bit of a choker. Never thought it until I saw the way he rocked out yesterday. You are on such a roll your team is coming back. You get to the moment where all that hard work is gonna pay off and you pass/turn the rock over?? Really? At this point it’s gotta be mental.

  • http://slamonline.com datkid

    but robb he was double teamed right? if everyone on your team is awesome and you get double teamed you should probably pass. and I could be wrong here too, but I felt like that was a pretty good steal by blake. personally. I didn’t think that pass was telegraphed. but that’s my opinion.

  • http://slamonline.com nbk

    You wrong Kid. That pass was a horrendous decision. It’s like he over-thought the situation. He had enough to time to make a move at the basket and then make a pass or even two. Not just one homerun pass to the corner.

  • http://slamonline.com nbk

    Not saying passing wasn’t the right idea, cuz it might have been considering how open other guys were, but the cross court pass with that much time left was a panic move.

  • http://yahoo marlon lawrence

    To lebron by me marlon lawrence a.k.a ” ARO ” from BELIZE, don’t worry i saw the game too but if u had help from the beginning n didn’t had to be killing up ur self by try’n to bring back the game just like last year u would n could have been my M.V.P again . . . No trip doggie your d BEST i had eva seen since MJ n wanna tell ya ur time will come. . . LBJ all d way HATERS…!

  • http://sajkfldl.com Jukai

    SLAM: where Kobe gets sh*t for shooting over the double team, and Lebron gets sh*t for not shooting over the double team.

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    ^And it makes sense.

  • http://www.nesn.com/2012/02/kobe-bryant-says-hes-better-than-michael-jordan-second-to-wilt-chamberlain-as-best-nba-player-ever-v.html shutup

    lmao, people are crazy if you think trying to pass it wasnt the best basketball decision, Blake had to guard two people that last play, Wade and Howard, Lebron hesitated and made a bad pass, but chucking up a 3 wouldnt have been the smart play, I think he shoulda faked the pass to Wade and when Griffin bit he should dumped it to Dwight for the tie. Lebron passes the ball equally as well as he scores the ball, Williams shot an airball, Wade fumbled a pass out of bounds and melo chucked up a brick, but it all seems to fall on Bron’s head, smh. and I bet he blames himself for that Wade turnover too so him being upset actually shows his competitive fire is growing, he showed more emotion losing the all-star game then he did after last years finals.

  • http://slamonline.com nbk

    they were down 3.

  • http://sajkfldl.com Jukai

    I’m with everyone that it was a bad pass because it was an easy catch for Griffin, but I don’t think it’s an indicator of cracking under pressure.
    The Finals was Lebron cracking under pressure.
    The all-stars was Lebron seeing Carmelo two seconds too late in the corner but still thinking he could make the pass.

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    Why not keep his dribble alive, stretch the play and force the double teamer to make a decision about whether to stay put or scramble back to his man. He had about six seconds, he should have taken that gamble.
    A cross court pass against some of the quickest players in the world when they are locked in on defense is not a great basketball decision, particularly not when you telegraph the pass.

  • http://cnbc.com JTaylor21

    they were actually down 2.

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    I thought Williams shot from too deep. That was about 26 feet. he caught it deep, and I think misjudged it. It was online, but short. Melo played hero ball, and Wade took his eye off the ball at the last second. But, it was all entertaining.

  • http://slamonline.com nbk

    Oh my bad, I was just thinking about the last play/

  • http://www.nesn.com/2012/02/kobe-bryant-says-hes-better-than-michael-jordan-second-to-wilt-chamberlain-as-best-nba-player-ever-v.html shutup

    yeah they werent down 3, they went for 3 for the win. But thank you for the effort. @allen keeping the dribble alive would be what a selfish shooter would do, Lebron being the type of player he is looks for the best play pass or shoot and wade was open but his hesitation closed that window when Griffin bit but that left Howard all alone in the paint. If he would have followed one of the most fundamental principles of passing which is to fake then pass he would of made Griffin move then pick between the two guys he was trying to guard, and lets not overlook the fact that Howard and Wade let themselves be covered by one man.

  • http://sajkfldl.com Jukai

    Allen: Actually I think he should have passed it right away instead of dribbling to the right because I saw the guy on the wing immediately. Not blaming Bron for missing him, but I think he saw him and said “CRAP HE”S OPENED” and forced a pass when the opportunity was gone. It’s not a “ohhh he choked” thing, it’s a bad pass. Dem the ropes.

  • http://nba.com GP23

    The irony is, without LeBron’s great 4th quarter, we wouldn’t be having this “unclutch” convo today. The Bron talking points are always self-inflicted

  • http://www.t-mac.com/tmac/index unf*ckwitable

    Lebron is a certified beast but he still hasnt got that killer instict though, he needs that, if only to get the monkey off his back.

  • http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1122425/index.htm nbk

    It was a bone-headed play by LeBron. He panicked. It really just flat out doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. And honestly, having Kobe and Carmelo come up to him and say, “you have to shoot that” after he didn’t may do more good then anything.

  • http://slamonline.com datkid

    it’s crazy that i agree with shutup. but yeah I get it nbk. He messed up.

  • http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1122425/index.htm nbk

    it’s not crazy, dude has a logical basketball perspective.

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    I guess I thought the dribble forces the big man farther out of position, and makes it even more difficult for Griffin to guard two people.
    I didn’t think the pass was a bad idea, to be clear. He was doubled, he did what you’re typically taught to do when doubled. BUT, when you’re LeBron James, and you’re that hot, and you’re the best player in the world, sometimes you have to be a little more selfish to make the absolute best play.
    Anyway, I think it had more to do with that crazy shot he jacked up right before that when he cleared out and settled for a fallaway three pointer on the right side. I think he didn’t want to do that again.
    What I really can’t understand is how he agrees to be the inbounder. He was the hottest player on the court, and other than Deron, the best three point shooter. Why is he inbounding?

  • MeloMan15

    bron is not a better 3point shooter than Melo

  • http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1122425/index.htm nbk

    weird how he shoots a better % for his career….

  • http://sajkfldl.com Jukai

    Allenp: That pissed me off too. Obviously it was a drawn play, and I can see Lebron not wanting to make a stink in an all star game… but Lebron shoulda gone up to Thibs before a play was even drawn up and said “I want another chance”

  • http://slamonline.com Allenp

    Yeah Jukai, I don’t understand how that doesn’t happen. Everybody expected it. And for him to inbound just makes the whole play less effective. oh well, we’ve go an entire half of the season to see what happnes next in this saga.

  • http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1122425/index.htm nbk

    Thibs would have probably just laughed or benched him for Paul Pierce. He’s the coach of the Bulls. lol I would have done the same damn thing to my “enemy” – mind games baby.

  • http://www.nesn.com/2012/02/kobe-bryant-says-hes-better-than-michael-jordan-second-to-wilt-chamberlain-as-best-nba-player-ever-v.html shutup

    As for Lebron taking it out it was a sound coaching decision, hes tall and arguably the best passer on the east or at least the best passer on the floor at the time, it surprised me though, I would have preferred to see him shoot that last shot, if there was 2-3 seconds on the clock having him inbound it would have been my choice so he could step on the court and get the ball back, but the last play wasnt really that good to begin with, it looked like a a play ran by a bunch kids playing two hand touch, there was no real structure or picks set, at least from my perspective there was no first option, it was like run and get open and let Lebron decide where the ball goes.

  • Top$helf

    Lebron is a 1000 times better than me but I woulda took tht shot he brought em back so he earned the right to take the last shot

  • http://cnbc.com JTaylor21

    I find it funny and sad at the same time that a cat is getting major criticism for attempting to make the correct play during a freaking all-star game. When did playing team basketball become a bad thing?
    People keep expecting LeBron to be something he’s not. People keep expecting him to be this scoring machine without a conscience when in reality ever since he stepped into the national scene as a HS sophomore, the guy has been a pass-first player who just happens to score out of necessity. He’s not going to all of a sudden change 9 seasons into the League and people that expect him to will be sadly disappointed.

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