Following a basketball game, opponents usually meet up with one another to shake hands and embrace one another.
The practice normally dies down in the playoffs, but it gets revived when the series is final.
LeBron James did not participate after advancing to the second round.
The Los Angeles Laker went to the locker room with still over 14 seconds left on the clock during a deciding Game 6.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM
The Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James watches play during the first half in Game 6 of the team’s first-round playoff series against the Memphis Grizzlies Friday, April 28, 2023, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
The Lakers dominated the Memphis Grizzlies, 125-85, in Game 6 to win the series 4-2. And at least one member of the Grizzlies gave a fair share of trash talk to James before and during the series.
Days before it was even official that the Lakers and Grizzlies would meet in the first round, the Grizzlies’ Dillon Brooks welcomed the challenge, and his jabs continued throughout the series.
Dillon and James exchanged words with 8:06 remaining in the third quarter of Game 2 after James scored two straight baskets. Brooks said James called him “dumb” for picking up his fourth foul.
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James tosses powder in the air prior to the team’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder Feb. 7, 2023, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
“I don’t care. He’s old. I was waiting for that,” Brooks said after the game when asked about the exchange. “I was expecting him to do that in Game 4, Game 5. He wanted to say something when I got my fourth foul. He should have said that earlier on.
“I poke bears. I don’t respect no one until they come and give me 40 [points].”
James shook off those comments, saying he was “not here for the bulls—.”
LEBRON JAMES SENDS CRYPTIC SONG LYRICS ON SOCIAL MEDIA AFTER KNOCKING GRIZZLIES OUT OF PLAYOFFS
Brooks was ejected in Game 3 after an inadvertent shot to the groin on James.
James, who usually stays off social media throughout the playoffs, took to both Twitter and Instagram to tweet out cryptic rap lyrics that may or may not have been directed at the Grizzlies, who were the No. 2 seed in the West. The Lakers are the seventh seed.
“If you ever see me fighting in the forest with a Grizzly bear, HELP THE BEAR,” he wrote, citing a bar from the rapper Mystikal. He also tweeted lyrics from JAY-Z’s 2006 hit “Trouble.”
LeBron James celebrates a basket after being fouled by a Grizzlies player in overtime in Game 4 of the NBA playoffs at Crypto.com arena. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
James and the Lakers await the winner of the Golden State Warriors-Sacramento Kings series. Game 7 is in Sacramento Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET.
Fox News’ Joe Morgan contributed to this report.
