Lakers’ LeBron James responds to Steve Kerr’s flopping comments: ‘That’s just not us’
The Warriors forced a Game 6 on Friday
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James on Wednesday responded to Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr’s comments regarding the Lakers flopping in Game 4.
James’ response followed the Lakers' Game 5 loss to Golden State, which will send the series back to LA for Game 6 on Friday.
LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers passes the ball during the Western Conference semifinal playoff game against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center on May 10, 2023, in San Francisco. (Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
"I just know that we, our coaching staff and us players, we don't work on flopping," James told reporters. "That's not even a part of our game. Our game is to attack, attack the paint. We don't mind physical contact. We actually like the contact, and we don't shy away from it."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}NBA CHAMP KENDRICK PERKINS WISHES HE COULD BREAK OUT THE 'HOOD VERSION' OF HIMSELF ON ESPN
"We’re just not a team that goes out there looking for flopping opportunities. That’s just not us. It’s actually never been any team I’ve played on in my 20 years where we’ve been flopping team. But it is what it is. They have the right to say what they want to say. But the game is always won in between the four lines and we have to be better on Friday."
In Game 4, the Lakers made all 20 of its free-throw attempts with the Warriors getting just 12 attempts at the charity stripe.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers talks to the media after Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals against the Golden State Warriors on May 10, 2023, in San Francisco. (Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
After the game, Kerr said the Lakers play with a lot of "gamesmanship" and "took some flops" in the fourth quarter.
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On Tuesday, Kerr made a "personal plea" to the NBA to clean up flopping in the games.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"I think, to me, what I’ve learned coaching in FIBA... There’s a flop rule," Kerr told reporters Tuesday, according to NBC Sports Bay Area. "If a referee deems a player has flopped, they just call it a technical foul, and it’s pretty penalizing. And so the flopping has basically been eliminated from FIBA, and we have the ability to do the same thing in the NBA if we want.
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr gestures during the Western Conference semifinal game against the Lakers on May 8, 2023, in Los Angeles. (Harry How/Getty Images)
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"I think we should address it, because the players are so smart, and the entire regular season is about gamesmanship and trying to fool the refs. And this is how it’s been for a while, and it’s up to us as a league. Do we want to fix this?... These are all things that are my personal plea to the NBA. I think we can do better in terms of cleaning up the flopping. In the meantime, I give the Lakers credit for the plays that they’ve been able to sell."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Lakers will have a chance to end the defending champs' season on Friday as they take a 3-2 series lead back to Los Angeles.