LeBron James Vents Frustration As Officials Appear to Misjudge Game-Tying Three on Birthday

The Lakers forward lit into the NBA’s replay system.

With time ticking down in the Los Angeles Lakers' game against the Minnesota Timberwolves Saturday, Lakers forward LeBron James did what he does best. He knocked down a three-pointer to tie the game at 107 with 2.3 seconds showing on the clock...

...or so he thought. The shot was ruled a two on the floor and survived a replay review, facilitating a 108–106 Timberwolves victory.

With several video and photographic angles implying there was a wedge of court between James’s sneaker and the three-point line when he took the shot, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer took the game’s officiating to task on his 39th birthday.

“It’s an obvious three. My foot was behind the line,” James told reporters. “(The referee) said it was out of their hands, in (the league control center) Secaucus (N.J.) or whatever.”

This LeBron James bucket was called a two after further review 😲 pic.twitter.com/6fudDbdlL0

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 31, 2023

James then criticized the league’s replay review process.

“It’s super frustrating in the sense of, ‘What the hell we got replay for?’” James said. “What do we have replay for if even the replay gets it wrong?”

Punctuating his venting, James offered a screenshot on Instagram that seemed to show he did, in fact, make a three-pointer.