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Last night was an opportunity for the Los Angeles Lakers to exhale after closing out the Portland Trail Blazers with a Game 5 victory to advance to the second round of the playoffs. But it also gave the players, particularly the Los Angeles Lakers an opportunity to grieve yet another untimely loss. The passing of Chadwick Boseman on Friday, as well as the tragic death of Kobe Bryant earlier in the year, were weighing on LeBron James after the game.
James honored Boseman by doing the ‘Wakanda Forever’ salute from the Black Panther movie and he was asked about the gesture, which led to LeBron lamenting the terrible year that it’s been in 2020.
Lakers’ LeBron James w/ tribute to Chadwick Boseman: “It actually felt like we had our black superhero and nobody could touch us. To lose that, it’s sad in our community. To lose Black Panther & Black Mamba in the same year — 2020 is the sh**tiest year.” pic.twitter.com/GiGbPA80Gp
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) August 30, 2020
The Lakers have a couple of days now to rest as they will await the winner of the Thunder-Rockets series, which currently stands at 3-2 Rockets. But it’s become clear that the Lakers also need some time to help get right mentally, as they are approaching nearly two full months in the bubble.
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