James sat out the second half against the Warriors
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LeBron James is in ramp up mode for the regular season in more ways than one. The 21-year veteran played in his second game of the preseason on Friday against the Golden State Warriors, and because the game didn’t count, the Los Angeles Lakers star sat out the second half and engaged in a bit of behavior you almost never see in the regular season.
As James knew he wouldn’t be returning to the game, he changed out of his uniform at halftime and came back to the bench area as a spectator for the second half. That’s fairly standard preseason fare, but what’s a bit more unusual is what James got caught doing on the bench: eating his dinner as he watched his teammates battle the Warriors and lose, 129-125. In fact, one Laker legend took issue with James’ timing.
“I didn’t like that,” five-time Lakers champion Michael Cooper said on the latest episode of his “Showtime with Coop” podcast. “Again, he’s LeBron James, but still, you’ve got to have respect for the game, man. He’s over there — I don’t mind the guy eating, but go eat in the locker room, and then when you come out, you come out and be part of the team, not just sit on the end of the bench eating.”
James has a bit of a history when it comes to food and drink in unusual places. He famously arrived at a 2018 game against the Los Angeles Clippers that he missed with a glass of wine in tow.
LeBron showed up to the game with a glass of wine 😂🍷 pic.twitter.com/MA9mY3GXUz
— ESPN (@espn) December 29, 2018
Ultimately, a post-game meal is fairly harmless and likely just an element of James’ routine. This was largely a matter of timing. James is a creature of habit and likely wouldn’t want to disturb his post-game routine, but as his post-game came earlier than his teammates’, he still seemingly wanted to show support for the rest of the Lakers. It’s a bit unusual, especially to an older player like Cooper who seemingly sees it as a violation of the sport’s unwritten rules, but if it allows James to maintain his routine and watch his teammates, the Lakers should have no issue with what he did.
