LeBron James takes blame for ‘horrible’ mistake in Lakers collapse to Bulls
The Lakers had an inexplicable collapse against the Bulls on Thursday with LeBron James at the center.
One night after giving the Lakers a win with a game-winning buzzer beater, LeBron James took away a game.
While it didn’t come completely down to him, LeBron was at the center of the Lakers collapse to the Bulls on Thursday. Despite leading by five with 12 seconds remaining, the purple and gold fell on a half-court buzzer beater from Josh Giddey.
Before that shot — or Austin Reaves’ preceding layup that looked to be a game-winner itself — could even take place, the Bulls had an incredible six-second span that gave them the lead. After a pair of Reaves free throws, the Lakers led by five with 12 seconds left.
On the inbound, LeBron was caught overhelping, allowing Patrick Williams to knock down a corner 3-pointer. And on the Lakers’ ensuing inbound, a nonchalant LeBron pass was stolen by Giddey, who found Coby White for a 3-pointer to put the Bulls ahead.
DID THAT JUST HAPPEN!?!?! pic.twitter.com/5t6d7N1tTq
— Bulls on CHSN (@CHSN_Bulls) March 28, 2025
After the game, LeBron was well aware of the blame that fell on him and did not shy away from it.
“We put ourselves in a position to win,” LeBron said. “Horrible turnover by myself. Bad miscommunication the play before that. [Reaves] still hit a big bucket to try to save us and you tip your hat if someone hits a game-winner from half court.”
There’s not a lot LeBron can say in this moment that makes this loss sting less or not feel as shocking. The Lakers had a win in their hands and dropped it.
It’s hard to even tip your cap, as LeBron said, to Giddey for the game-winner because he should have never had the opportunity. Because of how fast everything happened in those final seconds of the game, making sense of the loss is hard to do.
LeBron has led the Lakers to many wins and there are many nights where the team has him to thank for the victory, including 24 hours prior. But this is one of the rare moments when he will have to live with the person being most at fault for a late-game collapse that cost them a winnable game.
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