The Spurs must be feeling themselves after winning this year’s NBA Draft lottery.
San Antonio rookie Jeremy Sochan mocked LeBron James after the Lakers star took a dubious fall in Los Angeles’ 108-103 loss to the Denver Nuggets in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals on Thursday night.
“Why does ‘King’ James flop so much?” Sochan tweeted.
Putting king in quotes is a particularly saucy decision by Sochan, who averaged 11 points per game for the 22-60 Spurs this season.
The play in question came at the start of the fourth quarter when James deflected a pass from Nuggets star center Nikola Jokic, and then mysteriously dove to the floor with his arms flailing wildly.
James ended up all the way next to the spectators, knocking over a fan’s drink in the process.
The move worked in the short term as Jokic was called for a foul.
Long-term, though, the Nuggets went on a Jamal Murray-led 20-6 run to push themselves ahead on their way to victory and a 2-0 series lead in the Western Conference Finals.
Sochan was not the only one to notice, as fans took to social media to mock James.
“This man is a disgrace! I’m disgusted,” Barstool Sports president Dave Portnoy tweeted.
“Add this to the flop mix tape,” one fan tweeted.
“LeBron legit flew 20 feet on contact he created. He owes that fan a drink,” another added.
It was not James’ only viral moment of the night.
In the second quarter, James was gliding to the basket for an uncontested fast-break dunk when the ball slipped out of his hands and out of bounds.
“Obviously that sucks that the ball squirted out of my hand like that, whatever the case may be,” James said. “Maybe hit my knee or whatever, but unforced turnover by myself. Horrible. Especially on the road.”
James finished the game with 22 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists.
It was Murray who stole the show in the fourth quarter, hitting six of seven shots as Denver pulled away.
“He made shots at the end of the clock,” James said. “We guard for 24 seconds and he made two big-time shots, one over (Anthony Davis) and one over me.
“He had his 3-point shot going in the fourth. It’s no surprise to me, he’s done it before. Sometimes it’s a never-miss league.”