LeBron James may have been justified in questioning the urgency and priorities of his Los Angeles Lakers teammates in recent days.
James, after all, has been there, done that. He's a three-time NBA champion. He's a four-time NBA MVP. The Lakers paid him $153 million to be the unofficial team spokesman he's always been. And what else was he supposed to say in the wake of L.A.'s 4-10 stretch and slide out of the playoff picture?
On Monday night, however, one Lakers fan painted a different picture.
While James spent much of this week talking about his fellow Lakers' distractions, @TheMMQBL on Twitter shared a discovery made on Instagram -- one that suggests LeBron should listen to his own advice. 2 Chainz, whose latest album, "Rap Or Go To The League," drops March 1, posted an album promo Monday. In the video, James, who has an A&R credit on the album, can be seen enjoying a studio session with the rapper at 11:43 p.m. on Feb. 1.
As @TheMMQBL pointed out, the Lakers played the Golden State Warriors the following day, and headlines from Feb. 2 show that was the same day LeBron sat out due to "load management" reasons.
As LeBron Wire points out, James did play more than 40 minutes in an overtime win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Jan. 31, his first game action in more than a month following a groin injury. So there may have been legitimate basketball reasons for his absence against the Warriors. That said, his rest vs. Golden State (a 115-101 loss) was also something that Lakers coach Luke Walton was only informed of roughly 80 minutes prior to tip-off, according to reports. And with James openly asking teammates whether basketball is the most important thing in their lives during the Lakers' struggles, it's easy to see why L.A. fans might be frustrated at James' own off-court endeavors.
LeBron, of course, has managed a heavy workload away from his NBA career in the past. We're talking about a guy whose entertainment industry credits now include a "Space Jam" sequel and potential "Friday the 13th" reboot, remember. In fact, he shared a similar album promo from his own Instagram nearly a week earlier, and that video also indicates LeBron was out late before his Warriors absence, touting a 10:37 p.m. studio session.
The Lakers, three games out of a playoff spot at 29-31, host the Pelicans on Wednesday night.