Former Charlotte Hornets and UNLV power forward Larry Johnson is one of the most athletic and versatile players in NBA history. He averaged between 18.8 and 22.1 points for four of the first five seasons of his career.
Described as “Zion Williamson before Zion Williamson,” Johnson stood 6-foot-7 and weighed in at 250 pounds or more.
These physical attributes and sky-high expectations make him uniquely qualified to speak on LeBron James. James, the 38-year-old Lakers star, has faced much criticism in recent weeks as his team was swept by Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray and the Denver Nuggets in the third round of the NBA Playoffs.
On Tuesday, May 23, Johnson, who led the New York Knicks to the NBA Finals in 1999, had the following to say about James and fans who trash talk players on his Facebook page.
“I’ll never defend someone trash talking LeBron James, another player, or a team in the NBA,” Johnson said. “Making it to the #NBA is an accomplishment that less than .0003% of humanity will experience.”
“I will also never trash talk the 30-60 year old keyboard warriors who write that sort of garbage.”
James started all 16 of the Lakers’ 2023 playoff games, averaging 24.5 points in an average of 38.7 minutes per game. He shot 49.8% from the field overall, but just 26.4% from three-point range on 6.6 attempted per game.
Following the season, Lakers GM Rob Pelinka spoke in-depth about the team’s plans to continue to rely on James and fellow superstar Anthony Davis.
“LeBron and AD as two pillars is, you know, to us an unmatched combination that will continue to lean into and build around,” Pelinka said.
“Both incredibly high-character players that want to win (and) play the game the right way. We’re proud of that combination of superstars and want to continue to invest in that and invest in advancing the growth we had this year into next season.”
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