Things are getting a little LeShady on Instagram again this week.
Fresh off winning the NBA championship, Denver Nuggets coach Michael Malone got in a few thinly-veiled swipes at Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James. In an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show,” Malone threw shade at James by joking that he was retiring (James had stolen away headlines from the Nuggets by saying that he was contemplating retirement immediately after getting swept by Denver in the Western Conference Finals).
"Speaking of the Lakers, I just want you guys to know, this is breaking news: I'm thinking about retiring."
Nuggets coach Michael Malone trolls LeBron James' retirement rumor after winning NBA championship 😂
(via @PatMcAfeeShow)pic.twitter.com/vmIW6SXGKE
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) June 15, 2023
There was also a disrespectful moment during the Nuggets’ championship parade on Thursday. Denver broadcaster Vic Lombardi introduced Malone at the parade by saying that he was “the Lakers’ daddy.”
"He came into this world as the son of a coach, but in these playoffs, he became the Lakers daddy!"@VicLombardi while talking about Michael Malone at the Nuggets championship rally 😂pic.twitter.com/h28iR5kLHq
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) June 15, 2023
James appeared to respond to the disses in an Instagram post on Friday. The former MVP shared a photo of himself waving a flag and included a notable caption in the post.
“In Europe for the last past few weeks minding my business and I hear I’m on your mind that much huh???” James wrote. “I mean I guess I see why.
“But Wave the flag on these lames!!” the caption continued. “Please make being [a] player cool again cause the lame machine is at an all-time high. Enjoy your light but just know I’m the SUN. I stay on forever!”
Malone, who was talking trash while the Lakers series was going on too, deserves credit for leading his team to an impressive sweep of the purple and gold (and then a five-game victory over the Miami Heat in the Finals). He also has a right to be upset about the James retirement chatter (which nobody actually believes) as it overshadowed the Nuggets’ triumph at the time. Even Charles Barkley slammed James over the way he handled that whole situation.
But Malone and the Nuggets still have three more titles to go before they can catch up to the four-time champion James. That is what James is choosing to flex right now as the Lakers work on possibly getting him some big help next season to try to dethrone Denver.
