LeBron James got into a confrontation with a fan and criticized a reporter following ugly Game 3 loss

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May 22, 2017 2:54 PM

LeBron James' ugly night against the Boston Celtics in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals got even worse after the game.

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LeBron James' ugly night against the Boston Celtics in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals, which included no points in the fourth quarter of a 111-108 loss, got even worse after the game when he got into a confrontation with a heckling fan and later scolded a Cleveland-area reporter during the postgame press conference.

The incident with the fan came as James was walking down a hallway toward the media session. According to an Associated Press report, the fan scolded James for scoring just 11 points. James then turned around and asked the fan to repeat himself.

According to Brian Windhorst of ESPN, James then asked the fan what he had ever done. The fan replied that he had played college basketball at Hiram College, a private liberal-arts college whose athletic teams participate in NCAA Division III.

The fan was escorted away as he was yelling his college stats to James. From Windhorst:

"LeBron got peeved at heckling fan after game. LeBron asked what fan had done. Dude replied: "I played at Hiram College." Emotions were raw in the moment but the guy's liquid courage was pretty hilarious. He was removed from arena shouting his college stats."

[Update] On Monday morning, Windhorst told a slightly different version of the story, now saying it was he who asked the fan "What have you done?" (via The Dan Le Batard Show on ESPN Radio).

"LeBron had a rough night. You know, he was walking to the press conference room where he was upset he had to wait. Ran into a fan who talked some trash to him, believe it ot not, in his own arena. LeBron didn't appreciate that, told the fan to get ejected. And I actually challenged the fan and said, 'What have you done?' And the fan said, 'I played local high school basketball."

A short while later, James was answering questions during his media session when he was asked two questions by Kenny Roda, a talk-show host for WHBC radio in Cleveland. James called out Roda, suggesting he asked questions only when the Cavs lose.

"It seems like you only ask questions when we lose," James said. "It's a weird thing with you, Kenny. You always come around when we lose, I swear."

According to Dave McMenamin of ESPN, via "Mike & Mike," James and Roda have "a history dating back to LeBron's first stint in Cleveland."

Here is the moment:

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