Washington Wizards forward Deni Avdija got absolutely clocked in the face by LeBron James. Avdija apparently wished the Los Angeles Lakers star showed a little more concern after the play.
The Wizards gave the Lakers a slight scare but ultimately lost 125-120 at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. But Avidja was arguably the biggest loser after eating a massive elbow courtesy of King James.
James was called for a flagrant foul penalty 1 for the second-quarter infraction.
Los Angeles Lakers Star LeBron James Called Out For 1 Reason Over Elbow Hit
Avdija was asked about the elbow he took from James and whether he thought it was intentional or not. Avdija clarified that he didn’t believe James meant to hit him. But he did express frustration in the Los Angeles Lakers frontman not showing any remorse or concern afterwards.
Deni Avdija got clocked so hard by LeBron James he got a migraine 😭😭pic.twitter.com/n1qI8DlefG
— Neil Dalal (@NeilDalal96) April 4, 2024
“I don’t think he did it on purpose,” said Avdija. “I did get him in L.A. … If I hit somebody in the face, I expect to go and check on him. I felt like he didn’t do it. So that got me a little pissed off.”
Avdija added that he understands the physical nature of sports. However, he believes that players can still show good sportsmanship when incidental contact does happen — which he believes LeBron James didn’t do.
“It’s sports. I’m going to get hit, I don’t care. Even if I get concussed. But part of it is just being a person coming and asking how you’re feeling — it just shows good sportsmanship. I feel like he didn’t do it, which is okay. It’s fine. I got over it.
Avdija was ruled out after halftime due to a migraine caused by the rough blow to the head. He finished with 7 points on 2/5 shooting. James tallied 25 points on 9/18 shooting — and one big elbow — in the win over the Wizards.
H/T NBA Reddit