Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James decided on Saturday that he wanted to team up with DeMar DeRozan and play in the Drew League for the first time since 2011. This was obviously a massive deal as LeBron was greeted with a packed house for his afternoon game in Los Angeles.
LeBron James was not the only big-name player tied to the Lakers that was meant to play on Saturday. Kyrie Irving was touted for the morning game at 11 a.m. but ultimately did not play, giving Lakers fans a taste of what it is like to be let down by him not showing up.
LeBron definitely made it up to disappointed fans as he didn’t just play in the Drew League and coast. LeBron gave the fans in attendance some highlights to remember and they are already circling NBA Twitter.
While the Drew League isn’t made up of complete basketball novices, it is made up of mostly normal people who do not even come close to that of an NBA player. We see NBA players play in the Drew League every year and it is always a reminder of just how big the gap is between a pro athlete and someone who is relatively good at his local 24-Hour Fitness.
This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for a lot of these guys playing in the Drew League. That being said, having to guard LeBron James still took the soul out of some of these players’ bodies.
https://twitter.com/Ballislife/status/1548425466830237696
At least that defender tried his best (unsuccessfully) to guard a LeBron James fadeaway jumper. It could have been worse, LeBron could have driven to the rim and put this guy on a poster that would have circled social media like wildfire.
That almost happened to another player who dared contest LeBron James at the rim. The lesson here is simple: do not, ever, try to block a full-steam LeBron James as he is going to the rim unless you are getting paid millions of dollars to play basketball. It is that simple.
At least he aborted the mission halfway through attempting the block.
The memes were flowing on NBA Twitter during LeBron James’ appearance in the Drew League.
Of course, Twitter being what it is, there had to be plenty of memes thrown out there when LeBron decided he would show up and remind all of these basketball players that there is levels to being a human being.
LeBron is the extreme version of a varsity star player coming down to play JV for a game just to get extra reps in. If anyone had any sort of success before LeBron got there, it quickly went by the wayside.
LeBron was not the only player that was dominating in this game. His teammate, who is only known by the moniker of “number 18” also put on a clinic in this Drew League game. He definitely caught the attention of NBA Twitter for his showing.
Who knows, maybe he will be signed to the South Bay Lakers when this is all said and done. Then LeBron’s production company, SpringHill Company, can make a movie about his rise from the Drew League to the NBA.