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Victor Petkov
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LeBron furious at replay center after controversial late shot
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James thought he made a 3-pointer 3.3 seconds before the end against Timberwolves

LeBron James believed he had added another significant moment to his legacy with a crucial shot on his 39th birthday. However, the NBA’s replay center held a different perspective, prompting James to express frustration with the league’s replay process.

During the Los Angeles Lakers’ road game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, the top team in the Western Conference, James made what he thought was a game-tying 3-pointer with 3.3 seconds remaining. To his dismay, it was ruled a 2-pointer, and the decision was upheld through replay from the league’s center in Secaucus, New Jersey, leading to a 108-106 loss on Saturday night.

Insisting on the correctness of his shot, James argued, “It’s obviously a 3. My foot is behind the line. I mean, you can see the space between the front of my foot and the 3-point line. You can clearly see a white, the wood on the floor, there’s a space in between the front of my foot and the 3-point line. So, you know, Stevie Wonder can see that, champ.”

Despite spending the day in bed with a non-COVID-19 illness, James scored 26 points, with 10 coming in the fourth quarter. However, it was the disputed shot and subsequent replay that fueled his frustration with the league’s review process.

Recounting the officials’ explanation, James said, “They said it was out of their hands. The Secaucus, whatever, over there in the replay center or whatever, somebody over there eating a ham sandwich or somebody made the call.”

Official Tony Brothers, in a post-game pool report, stated that the review wasn’t conclusive enough to overturn the call on the floor. James, however, felt the video evidence was clear and expressed his frustration with the purpose of having replay if it could still be inaccurate.

“It’s super frustrating in the sense of what the hell we got a replay for? What do we have replay for if even the replay gets it wrong? It’s like, who’s the part of the replay center? Like, do we got robots in there that’s making the Teslas? What’s going on? If you don’t see that, that is clear, that is clear,” James remarked.