The NBA world celebrated LeBron James breaking the all-time scoring record Tuesday night as the Los Angeles Lakers fell to the Oklahoma City Thunder 133-130.
Anthony Davis sat on the bench as James hit the shot that passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the roster and his actions drew scrutiny from fans who claimed the star center was not thrilled for his teammate.
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Jalen Rose, an ESPN analyst who played in the NBA for several years, criticized Davis for sitting out during the celebration.
«Yeah, Greeny, that’s really important,» Rose said on ESPN’s «Get Up» on Wednesday. «And I’m not going to sugarcoat this: one thing is they lost the game. Anthony Davis, it was a big stage game, he didn’t play well…he’s a pro. Of course he wanted to win. They ended up losing.
LeBron James and Anthony Davis of the Lakers during the Oklahoma City Thunder game at Crypto.com Arena on February 7, 2023 in Los Angeles. (Harry How/Getty Images)
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«There’s no way on God’s green earth you could be sitting around when the greatest record in basketball history is being broken, just as a fan of the game. Now, take it one step further, as a player in the game in both teams and to go even deeper, one of your teammates who is LeBron James, who you won a championship with in that same uniform. It seems insignificant. It seems like you’re hating. It seems like you’re being jealous of the moment. And when things like that happen In general, you feel like you can continue to pay together.»
ESPN analyst Jalen Rose during Game 2 of the NBA Finals between the Boston Celtics and the Golden State Warriors on June 5, 2022 at the Chase Center in San Francisco, California. (Mercedes Oliver/NBAE via Getty Images)
Rose said he didn’t think the Lakers would try to trade Davis for sitting on the bench while James took the historic shot.
«But that’s not a long-term relationship when your second-best player, Anthony Davis, purposely doesn’t celebrate LeBron James at a time when the whole world is watching,» he added. «That’s a bad aspect of Anthony Davis.»
Lakers LeBron James and Anthony Davis before the Oklahoma City Thunder game at Crypto.com Arena on Tuesday, February 7, 2023 in Los Angeles. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
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Davis pre-recorded a message for James when he broke the record.