LeBron James Had a Very Blunt Message About State of Lakers After Ugly Loss to Hawks

The Lakers star told it like it is.

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James didn’t bother to look for any silver linings after Tuesday’s 138—122 loss to the Atlanta Hawks. Instead, he just told it like it is.

James, who finished with 20 points, nine rebounds, and eight assists, said after the defeat, “We could, on any given night, beat any team in the NBA. And then, on any given night, we could get our ass kicked by any team in the NBA.”

The 19-time All-Star then asked a reporter what the Lakers’ record was.

“Under .500? What, 24-25?” James said. “That's where we are.”

LeBron James on the 24-25 Lakers: “We could on any given night beat any team in the NBA. And then on any given night we could get our ass kicked” pic.twitter.com/IlKra5XAmy

— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) January 31, 2024

James’ sobering words reveal the state of an underachieving Lakers squad that has hovered around .500 all season long. Tuesday’s road defeat marked the team’s second-straight loss to a sub-.500 team and puts pressure on coach Darvin Ham to make key fixes going into the final stretch of the season. Ham, who has arguably landed on the hot seat in recent months, faced some criticism for his decision to start center Jaxson Hayes instead of Christian Wood in the Hawks game with Anthony Davis out due to hip spasms.

The morning after the loss, James tweeted an hourglass in a cryptic message on X, which could imply that time is running out for the Lakers to find some semblance of consistency and get back to winning ways.

Up next for the Lakers is a road matchup against the Boston Celtics on Thursday.