LeBron James Threatens to Walk Out on NBA Playoffs

LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers are getting back on track in their 1st round series versus the Portland Trail Blazers. After they lost game 1, a lot of people were thinking that the Lakers were in trouble. But as it turns out, they should be just fine. That is, if the season continues at all.

A lot has been made about the NBA bubble in Orlando. A lot of players did not want to partake in the bubble at all. And now it has all come to a head. The NBA season is on life support today. The Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers are both threatening to strike during the rest of the NBA season.

It all a started when the Milwaukee Bucks sat out for their game against the Orlando Magic. This comes after there was yet another shooting of a black man.

Sources: Lakers forward LeBron James and Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard both spoke up in the players meeting Wednesday night and were adamant about not playing the rest of the playoffs and they wanted change. The players will have another meeting at 11 am East time Thursday.

— Brad Turner (@BA_Turner) August 27, 2020

The Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers have voted to boycott the rest of the playoffs and were the first two teams to exit the meeting, league sources tell Yahoo Sports.

— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) August 27, 2020

LeBron James Threatens to Walk Out on NBA Playoffs

Ever since then, there have been many different thoughts on what the NBA players might do. Now we can see what they are doing as they try to make a difference. They talked about why they did this.

“There has been no action, so our focus today cannot be on basketball,” said Bucks guard Sterling Brown.

The NBA Coaches Association also came out with a statement.

“The baseless shootings of Jacob Blake and other black men and women by law enforcement underscores the need for action,” the NBA Coaches Association said in a statement. “Not after the playoffs, not in the future, but now.”

"It is imperative for the Wisconsin State Legislature to reconvene after months of inaction and take up meaningful measures to address issues of police accountability, brutality, and criminal justice reform."

I couldn’t agree more. Thank you, @Bucks. https://t.co/TvIiVsmuHX

— Governor Tony Evers (@GovEvers) August 27, 2020

Even Kenny “The Jet” Smith joined in the protest, walking off the set of Inside the NBA on Wednesday night.

“As a black man, as a former player, I think it’s best for me to support the players and just not be here tonight.”

Kenny Smith, Inside the NBA host, just walked off the set: “As a black man, as a former player, I think it's best for me to support the players and just not be here tonight."pic.twitter.com/3561mMA1Vi

— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) August 26, 2020

This seems like it is the start of something much bigger than sports. However, it is still very sad that NBA basketball is once again not available. Who knows how long this protest will last. The NBA could very easily not be back until next year.