LeBron James might be old enough to play with his 20-year-old son, but father time has yet to come for the King.
While James is still among the league’s top players as he approaches 40, that doesn’t mean that the league’s oldest active player is immune from jokes. In fact, an entire generation that grew up idolizing James now has a chance to take their shots at one of the world’s most dominant athletes.
Though, perhaps they wouldn’t dare say it to his face. Or maybe they would. Who knows with Gen Z?
But Desmond Bane made no qualms about describing James as “old” during a postgame interview Wednesday. In a 131-114 win over the Lakers, Memphis Grizzlies guard Scotty Pippen Jr. recorded 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting (3-of-4 beyond the arc) to go along with six rebounds, four assists, a block and a steal.
That steal was vital because Bane honed in on it as he interrupted Pippen’s interview with Grizzlies sideline reporter Rob Fischer. Pippen, who signed with the Lakers as an undrafted free agent out of Vanderbilt following the 2022 NBA Draft, snatched the ball right out of James’ hands during the 17-point loss.
The loss didn’t sit well with head coach JJ Redick, but it did with Pippen, who played sparingly with Los Angeles and its South Bay G-League affiliate before signing a two-way deal with Memphis earlier this calendar year.
“Ask him [about] the way he snatched the ball from that — uh, old man over there,” said Bane. “From that old man over there!”
In the ESPN clip of the interview, Fischer didn’t ask Pippen about snatching the ball from that “old man over there.” He did ask about him if something a little extra was going against his former team.
“Definitely, they didn’t believe in me, so I’m out here trying my best,” he said.
[ESPN]
