It’s not often fans see LeBron James get posterized on a dunk, but it happened Tuesday night in the Los Angeles Lakers’ season opener.
James raced back to defend against the Denver Nuggets’ Jamal Murray on a fast break in the third quarter. But Murray threw a perfect lob to Aaron Gordon, who dunked hard over James.
Gordon got every bit of the dunk.
Showing incredible court awareness, James, who had just turned toward Gordon a split second before his dunk, immediately began motioning toward an official.
It wasn’t clear what James meant to say, and play continued. But a replay showed that Gordon had placed his right hand on the rim before the dunk. That is a rules violation, and the dunk should have been waved off.
The dunk had no bearing on the final score, with Denver winning, 119-107. But it’s not often you get “LeBron James,” “monster dunk,” and “illegal play” all in the same sequence, which left fans buzzing on social media.
Not sure how they missed this one.
— FantasyMagic (@jamesabaileyjr) October 25, 2023
Aaron Gordon should be a Dunk Champion.
— Depressed New York Fan (@JudgeEnjoyer) October 25, 2023
[NBA; Photo Credit: NBA on TNT]