LeBron James in Hot Water After Altercation, Potential Suspension Looms

Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James has missed a few games due to his injuries, and he may miss even more due to the potential suspension.

LeBron and Isaiah Stewart get into it ?

Wow. pic.twitter.com/VJFntCo6cY

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 22, 2021

In the game against the Detroit Pistons, LeBron elbowed big man Isaiah Stewart in the face. We have at least one good reason to believe that the league will suspend both LeBron and Stewart.

Isaiah Stewart running after LeBron pic.twitter.com/wb23SyWYle

— NBA Retweet (@RTNBA) November 22, 2021

“Gotta imagine a suspension is coming for Isaiah Stewart,” Keith Smith from Spotrac tweeted. “You lose it like that and you’re gonna miss a game or two. The real question is if LeBron James also gets a suspension or not. Flagrant 2’s pretty regularly do also come with a one-game suspension. We’ll see tomorrow!”

LeBron James to miss games due to a suspension

Eric Pincus from Bleacher Report discussed the entire situation, suggesting that LeBron may miss a few games due to the suspension. There’s also possibility that he doesn’t get any suspension at all.

“This is the most critical question, as it’s not subjective,” Pincus explained. “The league will issue a concrete penalty for both. Guessing what that will be is a little bit trickier. A quick poll of various people in NBA-related positions was all over the map. Some speculated James would get one or two games, but a few backed off that notion when reminded the Lakers next play the Knicks in New York on Tuesday.

“…James can claim the contact to Stewart’s face was unintentional, whereas [Nikola] Jokic clearly went after Morris. Additionally, at his $41.2 million salary, James would be penalized $284,004 a game. Jokic’s penalty was $217,789, and Morris, who started the incident with a Flagrant 2 on Jokic, was fined the maximum of $50,000. If the NBA wants to punish James for more than $50,000, they’ll need to go to the one-game suspension. Two games seem excessive, based on recent precedent.”

There’s more. Brad Botkin from CBS Sports added that LeBron will probably miss 2-3 games. He reminded everyone of the suspension Brandon Ingram and Rajon Rondo got in 2018 for punching one another in the face. They missed three games but their fight was something else. LeBron didn’t hit Stewart intentionally.

Well, we will have to wait to see what happens next. Most fans agree with the theory that LeBron didn’t even plan to hurt his opponent. Stewart was on the wrong place at the wrong time.