“Draymond Green so proud rn”: NBA fans react as LeBron James receives ‘Flagrant 1’ for elbowing Deni Avdija in the face

On Wednesday night, there was an uncommon occurrence as LA Lakers’ top player LeBron James committed a flagrant foul against Washington Wizards’ Deni Avdija. In the second quarter, while driving into the paint, James accidentally hit Avdija in the jaw with his elbow during a spin.

The Lakers had a lead of 60-53 towards the end of the second quarter when the elbow incident took place. Upon reviewing the play, officials deemed that LeBron James committed a Flagrant 1 foul for making contact with Avdija’s jaw.

Despite not being known for dirty or risky plays, “The King”faced immediate criticism from fans for the incident. One fan even made a joke that his friend Draymond Green, who is also represented by Klutch Sports, would be impressed by his actions.

“Draymond Green so proud rn,” X user @doctahotdog said.

According to @Tomascove0, if Green had been the one responsible for the foul, he would have been removed from the game.

“LeDirty,” wrote @gio_gonzalez3.

“He deserves the 2nd flagrant,” wrote @AzDulazD7.

Additional responses to the play include:

Despite being ruled out due to a migraine later on, Avdija persisted in the game and successfully made two free throws. In his 22 minutes of play, he contributed seven points, two rebounds, two assists, and one steal.

It was speculated by certain fans that Avdija’s migraine could have been a concussion caused by the elbow incident.

“You spelled concussion wrong,” @ShrekDonkey29 said, reacting to the announcement that Avdija had suffered a migraine.

The final score of the game was 125-120, with the Lakers claiming victory and improving their record to 44-33. LeBron James contributed 25 points, nine assists, seven rebounds and three steals, while Anthony Davis recorded 35 points, 18 rebounds and three blocks.

Rui Hachimura, who used to play for the Wizards, scored 19 points, while D’Angelo Russell and Austin Reaves contributed 18 and 16 points, respectively.

Exploring LeBron James’ Record of Flagrant Fouls

Despite his lengthy 21-year career in the NBA, LeBron James has never been known for dirty plays. The flagrant foul on Avdija was only the ninth of his career and the first of the current season.

In all of his years in the league, he has never exceeded two flagrant fouls in a single season. He received his first flagrant foul in his fourth year, during which he was charged with two. The only other season in which he was penalized with two flagrant fouls was 2021-22.

Throughout his career, he has accumulated a total of 73 technical fouls, with his highest number in a single season being 10 during the 2008-09 season.

In his career, he has only been ejected twice, during the 2017-18 and 2021-22 seasons.