After the Los Angeles Lakers lost to the LA Clippers on Saturday, LeBron James and coach JJ Redick expressed their dissatisfaction with the officiating. For the second straight game, multiple Lakers players were called for technical fouls after excessive complaining.
Speaking to reporters after the game, James was baffled by how inconsistent referees have been this season.
“I have no idea where the consistency is. There isn’t consistency. It is what it is,” James said, via The Athletic’s Dan Woike.
Less than two weeks before his 41st birthday, James finished the Lakers’ 103-88 loss with 36 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals. He was forced to do the heavy lifting after Luka Doncic suffered an injury and was ruled out for the second half.
The Lakers were already without Austin Reaves, Rui Hachimura and Deandre Ayton entering the contest.
Redick Agrees With James’ Call For Consistency
Lakers coach JJ Redick agreed with LeBron James’ assessment about the inconsistency in NBA officiating this season. Redick already has a course of action regarding the officiating that has gotten out of control. He plans to talk to the NBA’s President of League Operations, Byron Spruell.
“Overall, the consistency and it’s something I’m going to talk with Byron about tomorrow. The consistency needs to be addressed. That needs to be addressed. And it will be. I think if any coach, any player, what we ask for is consistency. And that’s not to single any official out or any crew out. It’s not about that. We need to know what it is night to night,” Redick said, via Fadeaway World.
Based on several incidents over the past few days, the NBA could have a problem on its hands. Coaches David Adelman of the Denver Nuggets and Chris Finch of the Minnesota Timberwolves were ejected after they went off on referees.
Even Steve Kerr of the Golden State Warriors was baffled about Draymond Green‘s ejection for complaining on Saturday against the Phoenix Suns.
According to NBC Sports Bay Area, Kerr argued that referees ejected Green for talking, while Dillon Brooks stayed in the game despite punching Steph Curry in the stomach last Thursday.
James’ Message Amid Injury Crisis
With four of the five Lakers’ starting lineup injured, LeBron James had a clear message to his teammates. James will need to carry the purple and gold franchise amid another injury crisis to try and keep the team afloat in a stacked Western Conference.
“No matter what the circumstance is, it’s still next man up. We’re all professionals and we all gotta stay ready. Obviously, very challenging circumstances for our ballclub tonight, but at the end of the day, we played extremely hard, we followed our keys. We just came up short,” James said, via Lakers Nation.
The good news for the Lakers is that Austin Reaves and Deandre Ayton could be back soon. Nevertheless, they have a tough schedule to end the year. They face the Phoenix Suns, Houston Rockets, Sacramento Kings and Detroit Pistons in their final four games of 2025.
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