LeBron James, Lakers
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LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers gestures to the ref on the ground during the fourth quarter of the game against the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena on March 5, 2026 in Denver, Colorado.
Veteran Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James made history on Thursday by surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s NBA all-time record for field goals made. However, he also sustained an elbow injury late in the game when he drove to the basket while guarded by Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic.
After nailing the layup at the 4:06 mark of the fourth quarter, James remained on the floor for several seconds and grimaced in pain, urging the referees to penalize Jokic. Instead, the referees didn’t even call a shooting foul on Jokic, as the Nuggets initiated a 4-on-5 fast break on the other end, leading to free throws for Julian Strawther.
The play in question can be seen below.
LeBron James Rips Officials
Due to James’ injury, the Lakers were forced to use a timeout to sub him out so he could get treatment on his shoulder. While James did return briefly at the 2:05 mark, he was in visible discomfort and couldn’t make an impact on a closely-fought game.
After the game, James did not hold back on the officials not hitting Jokic with even a common shooting foul, let alone a technical or a flagrant.
“It’s the same s—. ‘Marginal.’ It’s the same s—,” James fumed after the game, via ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.
“It’s, it’s, it’s … whatever. That’s all they keep saying is, ‘marginal.’ I’m so f—ing tired of that word.”
Nikola Jokic Inbound Controversy
That late fourth-quarter play wasn’t the only controversy involving Jokic on Thursday. Near the end of the second quarter, the Nuggets appeared to turn the ball over on an inbound pass from Jokic. However, after the Lakers gained possession, the play was stopped the Nuggets were allowed to inbound the ball again.
After the game, NBA Crew Chief Ed Malloy tried to justify the bizzare call.
“The decision was made because Jokić never had control of the ball out of bounds, therefore it was not a legal throw in,” he said in the pool report for Lakers vs. Nuggets.
BBALLBREAKDOWN
@LALMuse To all you Musers: the rule is very clear that the inbounder must have control of the ball to be able to inbound it. Jokic never got control as he was bent over to try and pick it up. That’s why it wasn’t a turnover
Meanwhile, James provided a vague injury update after the game, suggesting that he may not know the extent of his injury for at least a few days.
“It’s pretty sore right now,” James said. “It feels like a funny bone situation, but even more intense. Let’s see what happens over the next couple of days.”
“Hopefully, I’ll wake up tomorrow, and it doesn’t feel too much worse than it is now. If it feels better, that’d be great.”
Lakers head coach JJ Redick was also unaware of the extent of the injury.
“He’s got ice on it right now, and it’ll get looked at,” Redick told reporters.