Lakers' LeBron James Explains 'Most Frustrating Part' About NBA Refs and Rule Changes in New Video
In his 23rd NBA season, Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James has just about seen it all, but even a legend like him is having a hard time getting used to the league's constant changes when it comes to officiating.
During Tuesday's episode of the Mind the Game podcast, James and co-host Steve Nash discussed the NBA officiating and rule changes over the years, and the 41-year-old admitted that he hadn't been pleased with the lack of consistency from the referees.
"The only thing as a player, it's so inconsistent the way it's called, and as players, we just want consistency. On any given night, you can have one official telling you one thing and then another official telling you another thing," James said around the 2:50 mark. "My take is like, is this not a world, league conversation that you guys are having to like, 'This is how we're officiating these plays. This is how we're officiating these moves. This is how we're officiating this.' Or is it just like, depending on the ref? So, that's the most frustrating part, when you're out there and sometimes you can get away with certain things. Even defensively, some games you're allowed to get away with completely bearhugging guys and holding them, and then two nights later, you can barely put your hands on guys. It's like, OK, so what are we doing?"
Nash, who is a Hall of Famer, later questioned when the league shifted to start allowing more contact on both sides of the ball. From James' perspective, the change happened unexpectedly, and it was up to the players and coaches to determine what they could get away with on any given night.
"It wasn't discussed, it just kind of happened, and you just have to figure it out," James said (7:20 mark). "We went from one week of us prepping for games, and then two weeks later, it was like, 'OK, now we can do this.' It's like, 'But, when did it change?' How are we allowed to do this now? How are we allowed to wrap guys up, just completely bearhug them? It went from freedom of movement to no freedom of movement. I don't get it."
James is hoping to earn a sixth NBA championship before he ends his legendary career, so he will have to overcome any inconsistencies in officiating as the Lakers try to make a deep postseason run this year.
