LeBron James Responds to Criticism of ‘Disrespectful’ Shoeless Celebration

LeBron James responded to salty Utah Jazz TV announcers’ criticism of his celebration—”that’s some disrespect right there,” they moaned—during the Los Angeles Lakers’ 121-96 blowout road victory Wednesday night.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B5srqgwgz0A

James kicked off his Nikes and gifted them to two young fans, and could be seen sliding on the court near his team’s bench while cheering on teammates.

LeBron finished with 20 points and 12 assists in the win.

Per The AP:

“We knew we had to bring energy,” James said. “Even with a back-to-back, we still got to have energy and we got to push the pace. We’re very good when we get stops and we run. … It’s very important for us to push the pace, but it starts with our defense and we got defensive stops.”

Anthony Davis scored 26 points, LeBron James added 20 points and 12 assists for his 17th double-double in 22 games, and the Lakers dominated on both ends of the court in a 121-96 victory over the Utah Jazz on Wednesday night.

“We’ve got a good team,” Lakers coach Frank Vogel said. “We have high aspirations. We’re trying to keep a game-to-game, stay-in-the-moment focus throughout the year.”

Related LeBron James: Uncalled Travel ‘One of the Worst Things I’ve Ever Done in My Career’