After Austin Reaves’s Ejection, LeBron James Offers a Powerful Message

The contentious ejection of Austin Reaves affected the outcome of the game, which saw the Los Angeles Lakers lose to the Charlotte Hornets at home on Wednesday despite the arrival of new star Luka Doncic.

After Hornets center Jusuf Nurkic’s perceived foul was not called, Reaves became irate with the referee and was ejected from the game in the third quarter.

Austin Reaves just got EJECTED pic.twitter.com/1fhgpmhTrp

— Lakers All Day Everyday (@LADEig) February 20, 2025

The official immediately invited the guard to leave the court after he angrily swung his arm through the air in his direction. Later, LeBron James disclosed that some offensive language was also used: “He said the F-bomb too many times”

James acknowledged after the game that the Lakers, who were ahead 65-60 at the time, were upset by Reaves’ dismissal. Only their second win in 11 games, the Hornets rallied to win 100-97.

Despite the fact that Reaves’ ejection was theoretically completely preventable, James defended his teammate and expressed his opinion that the referee had acted prematurely by dismissing him.

“It deflated us a little bit. He had every right to argue the missed call. What he said after that I don’t think warranted him getting kicked out.”

In 27 minutes on the court, Reaves had eight points, two rebounds, two assists, one steal, and two blocks—not his best night yet. But the game was close enough that his dismissal made a big difference.

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