NBA fans call Lebron James 'biggest statpadder' after defeat to Golden State Warriors

The NBA 2022-23 season kicked off on Tuesday night with Boston Celtics vs Philadelphia 76ers match. While Celtics defeated 76ers by 126-117, the second game of the day witnessed the reigning champions Golden State Warriors locking horns with the Los Angeles Lakers. As expected the NBA world received a treat on the opening day, as Stephen Curry and LeBron James went all out against each other. 

While Curry returned with 33 points to his credit in a winning cause, James scored 31 points and still ended up on the losing side. As the match unfolded, NBA fans took to social media in order to express their displeasure with LeBron’s performance. Reacting to LeBron’s performance in the game, fans called out the 37-year-old for being the ‘biggest statpadder’. Interestingly, the NBA 2022-23 season marks the 20th year in NBA for the second-highest point scorer of all time.

Internet's reaction to LeBron James scoring 30+ points against Warriors

Playing for 35 minutes in the game, James contributed with 14 rebounds, eight assists and 31 points for Lakers against the Warriors. Reacting to the stats, a fan said, “LeBron James is stat padding as usual”. At the same time, another fan pointed out LeBron’s performance in the NBA 2021-22 season and said, “People seem surprised that LeBron James is stat-padding. Did you forget last season? It happened SEVERAL times. Games would be over by 20 in the fourth and he would still be putting up uncontested lay-up in the last minutes chasing record”.

Here's what LA Lakers coach Darvin Ham said-

Speaking about the loss, Los Angeles head-coach Darvin Ham said, “Whether you make a shot or you miss a shot, you turn the ball over, whatever, you’ve got to have a short memory and get on to the next play immediately. That has to be something that’s in our fabric, not just against Golden State but against the entire league.”

It is pertinent to mention that LeBron averaged 30.3 points, 8.2 rebounds and 6.2 assists in 56 games in 2021-22. However, Lakers finished 11th in the NBA 2021-22 points table with 33 wins, 49 defeats and failed to qualify for the postseason. Lakers will face the Los Angeles Clippers on October 21 in their next game.

LeBron is currently second in the all-time NBA points record behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.