There once was a time when LeBron James would cease all social media activity during the NBA Playoffs. Apparently, those days are long gone.
Following the Lakers' victory over the Warriors in the Western Conference Semifinals, James took to Instagram to share a reel of photos from Game 6, with Drake's "Tuscan Leather" playing in the background. Like much of what James does, the particular snippet and the lyrics used in his caption seem to be calculated and intentional.
"Here's a reason for n— hating without one, that always let their mouth run." Drake proclaims in the snippet. "Bench players talking like starters I hate it — started from the bottom now we here, n—, we made it."
MORE: Nikola Jokic-Anthony Davis matchup headlines Lakers-Nuggets Western Conference Finals
James may have figured that the snippet was on the nose enough, so his caption omits the "bench players talking like starters" portion of the lyric. However, if you were following the lead-up to LA's closeout win, the post could be interpreted as a dig at Warriors forward JaMychal Green.
MORE: JaMychal Green trolls LeBron James over flopping comments
Between Games 4 and 5, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr made a plea to the NBA to penalize flopping, categorizing the Lakers as a team that teaches the tactic. After Game 5, James vehemently denied that he or members of his team flop to sell calls. That prompted Green to take to Instagram and not so subtly insinuate — by using a cap emoji — that James was lying.
JaMychal Green via Instagram. 👀👀👀👀 pic.twitter.com/GFS7biafOL
— snoop🇸🇴🥂 (@ayyogeoo) May 11, 2023
The "bench players" lyric could be James' not-so-subtle retort to Green, who started three of a possible 64 games (regular season and playoffs) this year and earned DNP-CDs in six of Golden State's 13 playoff games.
This is apparently a new thing for James, who, during — and after — LA's series victory over Memphis in the opening round, made a few crossover references to his socials.
From an Instagram reel that featured Jay-Z's "Crown" to a more traditional Instagram post that cites Mystikal's legendary freestyle in which he proclaims that "if you ever see me fighting in the forest with a grizzly bear — help the bear!" James was nothing short of active.
Most notably, James took to Twitter following the Lakers' closeout victory over the Grizzlies to reference Jay-Z's "Trouble," in which he shared bars that were extremely applicable to Dillon Brooks' attempts to "poke bears" with his trash talk.
In Year 20, James is breaking away from his social media strategy of years past, relishing moments as only a 38-year-old LeBron could. Next up is a Western Conference Finals date with the Nuggets, the West's top seed. Denver isn't exactly known for trash talk.
We'll see if anything transpires that causes James to respond via social media.
