OAKLAND, CA – JUNE 07: LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers celebrates their 95 to 93 win over the Golden State Warriors in overtime during Game Two of the 2015 NBA Finals at ORACLE Arena on June 7, 2015 in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
The LockerBy AA Locker on

Before Sunday’s Game 2, current Golden State Warriors consultant and Los Angeles Lakers legend Jerry West had some strong words for the members of the media that have made a hobby of criticizing LeBron James. West said that the media that takes on LeBron “ought to be embarrassed”.

In Game 1, LeBron scored 44 in the Cavs’ 108-100 OT loss, and received plenty of criticism for his role in the defeat. With Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love both out, James went for 39-16-11 in Cleveland’s 95-93 OT win in Game 2, and that still wasn’t good enough for some pundits.

If that’s worth a C+, what does a 19-6-5 line while shooting 22% get you?

Anyway, West has a solid enough point here. The narrative has already been written about LeBron’s performance in the Finals by some people, and no matter what ends up happening, that same narrative will get trotted out. He could average a triple double for the series, and some members of the media will *still* claim he didn’t do enough, or wasn’t clutch enough, or that Jordan would have been able to do more. It’s ridiculous, and he’s pretty much the only athlete in America today that is subject to this sort of silliness.

[Uproxx]