Over the weekend, LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers took to Twitter with a controversial opinion that somewhat set the entire NBA “Twittersphere” on fire.
LeBron James on the play-in tournament: “Whoever came up with that s— needs to be fired”
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) May 3, 2021
No, not that one. That one is broken down here.
Ok, so even if LeBron James did set the world on fire with two different statements, only one came from his Twitter account.
Who makes the best/most comfortable gaming chair? I need one for myself
— LeBron James (@KingJames) May 2, 2021
What on Earth could King James possibly need a gaming chair for? LeBron James is wrapping up rehab and coming back from a devastating high ankle sprain. The Los Angeles Lakers are in dire need of a run to end the season as they’ve fallen, steadily from first to sixth place in the Western Conference. LeBron James ought to have a lot more on his mind. For instance, how can he and a lineup with Anthony Davis, Marc Gasol, and Andre Drummond cover up the shooting spree of the Utah Jazz? Will Drummond and Montrezzl Harrell be able to get out of drop coverage to stop Chris Paul and Devin Booker on the high pick-and-roll?
Further… LeBron James (six-foot-eight) is nearly a foot taller than the average American male (five-foot-nine). What makes him think the Twittersphere is going to give him the best answer on the fit of a chair? Does he not need that customized in the same way he needs everything else customized?
With all of these questions surrounding it, LeBron James asked the masses for recommendations on a chair. But before we solicit answers, we need to ask the much bigger question: what’s he need the chair for?
Long Zoom Meetings with Adam Silver
LeBron James has taken issue with several decisions made by NBA administrations in the last year. He adamantly wanted fans in the stands well before many had given indoor gatherings an OK. The two had their disagreements over the NBA All-Star Game. And now? The LeBron James vs. Adam Silver disagreement over the NBA’s new play-in tournament must have set James over the edge.
If LeBron James is going to sit down and give Adam Silver a piece of his mind, he needs to be sure he has the most comfortable chair to do it in. This is likely to be a long Zoom meeting. LeBron is likely to start with the play-in, touch on high-schoolers entering the NBA draft, and end by asking “so how much do I need to raise to own an expansion team in Akron?”
With all of the things he has to talk about, LeBron will definitely need to be sure he has a comfortable and ergonomic seat.
New Gig: 2k Twitch Streamer
LeBron James didn’t quite go full “zero-dark-23,” where he blacks out his social media presence. But James’ time away for injury recovery definitely was more secretive than the rest of his life. It was so much so that seeing a video of him jogging up and down the floor felt like we were watching something newsworthy.
If we didn’t get any insight into what LeBron James spent the time doing… is it really possible that he picked up a new hustle?
Gaming, at a professional level, is not easy. Much like basketball, many people play recreationally and a select few can make a living off of it. But it is a career that is much easier on the knees and could be a longer-lasting career than basketball.
And if LeBron gets his wish, and the folks who wanted the play in really do get fired… he may need that new gig sooner rather than later.
LeBron in late March, 2020: “You got Portland. You got Memphis…New Orleans and Sacramento tinkering around there…so if there’s five or ten games left…why not those guys battle it out? Make them play each other all five games?” https://t.co/y9tbcBsNow
— Sean Highkin (@highkin) May 3, 2021
Off-Season Will be Longer than Expected
If LeBron James and the LA Lakers are really about to end up in the play-in tournament, they’re theoretically an unconscious Steph Curry night away from a “he’s growing up before our very eyes” Luka Doncic night and, ultimately, being out of the playoffs before they begin for a second time in three years. And that’s not good.
That also may mean LeBron James needs some kind of a hobby. If that’s the trend his off-seasons are going to be much longer than the eight times in ten years he played in the NBA Finals. If LeBron James sees this possibility, it stands to reason he just wants a gaming chair to have a comfortable way to play some NBA 2K21 during the NBA Playoffs. He may be a few years from retirement, but he’s clearly seeing there’s a real chance that he is not going to be as busy in May and June as he used to be.
Gaming is a growing industry both professionally and recreationally. It’s not quite crypto, NFT’s, or TikTok… but it’s certainly a youth led movement that would connect James to his teammates. Talen Horton-Tucker was born in November of 2000, just before James’ 16th birthday. Clearly THT is into very different video games from the Sega Genesis and Nintendo 64 world LeBron James engaged in as a teenager.
