5 Horrible Things LeBron James Gets Away With Because He’s The Face Of The League

When an enterprise becomes as big as the NBA, one of the biggest, most important things that must be taken care of is being fair and treating every single player in the league equally; be it the reigning league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo or the Miami Heat’s Chris Silva (Who? Exactly).

But there is one player in particular who sometimes gets some additional benefits from the league and the referees on the court; maybe because of his popularity all over the world or maybe because of the image of being the ‘King’ of the league that he had formed around himself.

Honestly, I love LeBron James. He has been an exceptional athlete and what he did in 2016 to bring Cleveland their first major title in more than five decades is simply extraordinary and there will always be respect for his contributions to the game in my heart.

But there are some things that James does that simply get overlooked by the league but other players are penalised for and it feels against the spirit of basketball and that of the league:

1. Taunting His Opponents

I am all in for trash talking. I loved when Charles Barkley would let his man know that he’d just murdered him with a facial back in the day. But if the league decided to not tolerate taunts and sly comments, it’s only expected to be fair and equal to all right?

Regardless of how good the block was, the smack talking after it would have been an automatic technical against anybody else but LBJ.

2. Travelling Violations

The NBA allows one step (to gather the ball) before the player goes for a layup and I get that but what about travelling after collecting the ball from the baseline or at mid court or taking four steps before rising for the shot?

Even James acknowledged the fact that he had a brain fart and “malfunctioned” during the travelling violation but none of the three refs present on the court called it with one of them walking right next to him while looking at the man?! A little too casual for being the “best officials in the business,” right?

3. Over-Arguing With Referees

Remember when Rasheed Wallace was tossed out of the game for staring at the referee? And Tim Duncan got a technical for laughing while on the bench? FOR LAUGHING! How is it that other basketball players are forced to “maintain decorum” while James gets to do this:

I guess a King’s plea is higher than the rest?

4. Hanging On The Rim For Too Long

This is what the NBA Video Rulebook has to say about players hanging on the rim: “Players are not allowed to pull themselves up on the rim, nor are they allowed to hang on the rim after a dunk attempt, unless they are doing so to avoid injury to themselves or another player.”

This is what LeBron James did and didn’t get a technical:

5. Flopping So Much

Oh god, the flopping. So much flopping! Look, I get that James is a big man and the referees are sometimes too biased against calling fouls in favour of big men. But the need to flop even at the slightest of contact is just outrageous!

If you missed a layup then you missed a layup! Stop looking for a foul when there isn’t one and just get back on defense and play some basketball! What’s wrong with you!