LeBron James defends Jordan Bell after controversial dunk late in blowout victory
Golden State Warriors rookie Jordan Bell was at the center of controversy on Monday night, but now he is getting some backing from The King himself.
Late in the fourth quarter of Golden State’s blowout victory over the Dallas Mavericks, Bell got a clear lane to the basket after a steal and proceeded to throw it to himself off the backboard for the two-handed jam.
Jordan Bell Bringing back the old school T-Mac pic.twitter.com/idl2FZvWks
— NBCS Warriors News (@NBCSWarriors) October 24, 2017
Many on the Mavericks were not pleased about the apparent disrespect, and Anthony Slater of The Athletic reported that Mavs coach ignored Warriors coach Steve Kerr’s attempts to apologize for Bell’s dunk after the game.
Steve Kerr tried to apologize to Rick Carlisle postgame about the Jordan Bell dunk, Carlisle zipped right past, displeased.
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) October 24, 2017
Meanwhile, LeBron James offered a different perspective when asked about the play on Tuesday, per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.
#Cavs LeBron James was asked about Jordan Bell's late-game dunk that angered Mavs coach Rick Carlisle & others pic.twitter.com/KQLWne1gJC
— Chris Fedor (@ChrisFedor) October 24, 2017
For what it’s worth, the Warriors were involved in a similar play last season that also ruffled the opposition’s feathers. In any case though, auditioning for the Dunk Contest while up 25 with less than three minutes left isn’t a great look. But James does provide a solid counterargument that players should always give it their all until the final buzzer, so it’s open to interpretation.
