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Watch: LeBron James snaps at ESPN reporter over postgame question

By Joe Setyon June 7, 2018 at 8:37am

LeBron James wasn’t in a particularly good mood Wednesday night following the Cleveland Cavaliers’ 110-102 loss to the Golden State Warriors in Game 3 of the NBA Finals.

It’s not hard to understand why he was grumpy.

James did what he could to help his team win, recording a triple-double with 33 points, 10 rebounds and 11 assists. But it was all for naught, as Warriors superstar Kevin Durant went off for 43 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists.

Despite James’ best efforts, the Cavaliers are down 3-0 to the Warriors, with Game 4 set for Friday night.

So it should have come as no surprise that James got testy with a reporter during his postgame news conference.

ESPN’s Mark Schwarz wanted to know about James’ state of mind following Durant’s dagger of a three-pointer with under a minute to go in the game that put the Warriors up by six.

KDTREY! 😮😮😮 pic.twitter.com/m1IaARjJd7

— NBA (@NBA) June 7, 2018

NBA fans were quick to point out that Durant’s three was eerily similar to a shot he hit in Game 3 of last year’s Finals.

Wow. Kevin Durant hits the same shot back to back years in game 3 of the NBA Finals #nbafinals #kevindurant pic.twitter.com/Zm72zv4ZZD

— CarlosStory (@CarlosxcStory) June 7, 2018

“Describe what was in your mind both tonight and last year when Kevin Durant launched that shot from the wing,” Schwarz said.

James replied that perhaps Schwarz should have opted for a career as a psychiatrist instead of as a reporter.

“I actually think you should be like a psychiatrist. You want to just keep trying to get in somebody’s mind, it’s a whole thing, huh, Mark? What’s it my mind? Miss it, so we can get the rebound,” James said.

Was LeBron right to be annoyed by this question?

Schwarz, you may remember, is the same reporter who — after Cavs guard J.R. Smith forgot the score in the waning seconds of regulation in Game 1 — asked if James knew what Smith’s state of mind was on that last play.

“No, I don’t know his state of mind,” James said.

“Did you know if he knew the score?” Schwarz asked again.

At that point, James had enough and walked out of the news conference.

On his way out, he told the media assembled in the room, “Be better tomorrow.”

LeBron James walked out of the postgame after questions about JR Smith. “Be better tomorrow.” pic.twitter.com/2Cb7nGJT8h

— ABC7 News (@abc7newsbayarea) June 1, 2018

It’s amazing that 15 years into his NBA career, reporters still can’t resist asking James dumb questions.

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Tags:

Cleveland Cavaliers, ESPN, Golden State Warriors, LeBron James, Media watch, NBA

Joe Setyon

Deputy Managing Editor, Editorial

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Joe Setyon was a deputy managing editor for The Western Journal who had spent his entire professional career in editing and reporting. He previously worked in Washington, D.C., as an assistant editor/reporter for Reason magazine.

@JoeSetyon

Joe Setyon was deputy managing editor for The Western Journal with several years of copy editing and reporting experience. He graduated with a degree in communication studies from Grove City College, where he served as managing editor of the student-run newspaper. Joe previously worked as an assistant editor/reporter for Reason magazine, a libertarian publication in Washington, D.C., where he covered politics and wrote about government waste and abuse.

Birthplace

Brooklyn, New York

Topics of Expertise

Sports, Politics