LeBron James Got Called for Breaking Such an Obscure Rule and NBA Fans Had Conspiracy Theories

Many people didn’t even know this was a thing.

LeBron James and the Lakers were unable to end their series with the Warriors on Wednesday night, losing Game 5 to the defending champions 121–106. 

Los Angeles, who saw Anthony Davis leave Game 5 with a head injury, got off to a slow start and was never able to recover. The series now heads back to L.A. for Game 6 on Friday with the Lakers holding onto a 3–2 lead.

There was one call early in the game that seemed to set the tone for the night and it was a weird one: James got whistled for a five-second, back-to-the-basket violation while dribbling the ball early in the first quarter. 

This was something that is just so rarely seen: 

Here's the full play: 

TNT’s Stan Van Gundy said on the broadcast that it was the first time he’d seen one of those called all season. 

The NBA rule states: 

"An offensive player in his frontcourt below the free throw line extended is not allowed to dribble the ball with his back or side to the basket while being actively guarded by an opponent for more the 5 seconds.”

It was the right call, but just so weird to see it get called. 

NBA fans had theories: