The never-ending debate between different NBA eras has once again entered the chat.
When LeBron James is mentioned in debates, it’s usually about his championship record or how his GOAT status compares to Michael Jordan‘s.
But Isiah Thomas had something different on his mind when he watched James warm up in Los Angeles ahead of Friday night’s game against the Houston Rockets.
While getting up some shots, James was wearing team-issued sweats, a durag, and no shirt, which led to Thomas’ tirade on the NBA TV broadcast during the doubleheader’s halftime.
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“I just totally, 100% object to this. If I was the GM or coach, I would never let one of my players walk out on the floor looking like this. We are a professional NBA league. We ain’t summer league, we ain’t at the YMCA… I just think the professionalism in our NBA league has diminished so much,” he said.
His cohost joked they were playing shirts vs skins, but the
Detroit Pistons legend was already amped up.
“Look, I like LeBron, I’m a fan of his, so forth and so on, but to walk out on the floor before a game, with no shirt on, and shoot,” he continued. “I mean, come on, man? Where we at? What we doing? Where we at?”
In the end, the Lakers easily beat the Rockets at home, 140-109, and secured the three seed in the West amid a solid 50-game win season.
James is no stranger to responding to pundits —namely, a recent
courtside press of Stephen A. Smith— but he seemingly opted for a different approach to Thomas’ critiques with a post-game tweet.
“Man I was going to say something but it’s useless at this point in my career!” the tweet read. “Anyways more important CONGRATULATIONS JJ on a 50 win season in the WEST & Post Season nod!”
See how social media is reacting to Thomas taking issue with James’s pregame fit below.
