Lakers' LeBron James Says 'There Will be a Time' When He'll Respond to Trash Talk
LeBron James has seen all of the trash talk that both he and the Los Angeles Lakers received during last year's playoffs as well as the 2023-24 preseason, and will respond on his own time.
"There will be a time when everybody will get it," he said, per Melissa Rohlin of FOX Sports.
Houston Rockets wing Dillon Brooks went at James during last season's first-round series between the Lakers and Brooks' old team, the Memphis Grizzlies (per Joe Vardon of The Athletic).
He called James "old" after a Grizzlies victory in Game 2, adding "I poke bears. I don't respect anyone until they come and give me 40."
While the four-time MVP didn't end up scoring 40 points, the Lakers defeated Memphis in six games.
When asked if he regretted his comments after the series, Brooks said no (via Damichael Cole of Memphis Commercial Appeal).
"No, that's who I am," he revealed. "I don't regret it. I'm a competitor. I compete."
Los Angeles ultimately ended up falling to the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals. While the team was swept, it's worth noting that three of the four contests were decided by two scores or less.
Nuggets head coach Michael Malone downplayed the matchup between the two teams when speaking with Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.
"That's not a rivalry," Malone said. "I mean, you can't play a team in the Western Conference finals twice in the last couple of years and think it's a rivalry."
James has made a career out of silencing his detractors, and he'll look to do so again in 2023-24. He averaged 13.7 points and 4.3 assists in 18.8 minutes per game in the preseason, shooting 46.4 percent from the field and 41.7 percent from three.
