On Opening Night, as the Denver Nuggets hosted the Los Angeles Lakers, Reggie Jackson appeared to induce LeBron James to fall before shooting down a 3 over him, sending Nuggets and Lakers fans into a frenzy.
The guard for the Nuggets was accused of humiliating LeBron by leaving him with “broken ankles” after a play, however video evidence has emerged showing that this was not the case.
In a viral play from the Lakers’ game against the Nuggets, LeBron James was knocked down by Reggie Jackson, as shown on video.
A video demonstration In a viral play from the Lakers’ game against the Nuggets, Reggie Jackson knocked down LeBron James.Credit: TNT Jackson tripped four-time NBA champion LeBron by stepping on his foot and then bｅat him with a three-pointer.
Jackson stepped on LeBron’s foot, causing the four-time champion to fall, and then proceeded to bｅat him with a three-pointer. NBA Finals MVPThe TNT Team
Immediately following the action, many NBA fans criticized James for having his “ankles broken.”
Before the viral play happened, Jamal Murray found Jackson open in the corner early in the second half.
James drew even with the 6-foot-2 guard in an effort to block his attempt.
But the four-time NBA champion went down after what seemed like a jab step from the Nuggets’ star, and Denver went on to win by shooting a 3, with a score of 40-22.
Fans of both teams took to social media during halftime to poke fun at LeBron for getting his “ankles broken” by Jackson.
In basketball parlance, this signifies that an opposing player was so fooled by the ball handler that they fell on the floor.
Some have even said that Father Time is catching up with James and urged the 19-time All-Star to “retire.”
However, more level-headed NBA fans jumped to the Lakers forward’s defense by uploading videos of the play from a different angle.
Jackson was shown on camera pretending to take a shot before stepping on James’ foot, knocking the four-time MVP to the floor.
“Reggie ‘makes’ LeBron fall before canning the 3 to add insult to injury,” a user on X said.
“Watch the replay, and you’ll see he almost sprains his ankle stepping on LeBron’s foot, which is what caused LBJ to go down.”
“Clear 𝘰𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘷𝘦 foul NOT called,” another player chimed in. Pathetic.”
A third person commented: “Reggie Jackson stepped on LeBron’s foot and people gonna act like he got his ankles broken.”
After the Nuggets defeated LeBron James and the Lakers in four games in last year’s conference finals and went on to win the NBA championship, tensions have been high between the two cities.
This rivalry was fueled in June by a Colorado sportscaster who referred to Lakers head coach Mike Malone as “the Lakers’ daddy” during the Lakers’ title parade.