The 2022 Drew League game that saw LeBron James and DeMar DeRozan go HAM during the Southern California classic is the gift that keeps on giving.
Aside from player-billionaire James and DeRozan’s insane performances in a non-NBA-sanctioned game, James was able to right a Twitter wrong done to him in the past.
During his game as a player for the MMV Cheaters, LeBron had the ironic opportunity to be guarded by Dion Wright. This international player was once a standout at St. Bonaventure University, and, like most people, he has had strong opinions about LeBron James over the years. However, unlike most people, he had the opportunity to test his own skills and put his talents where his Twitter fingers are.
Imagine talking sh*t on twitter just for LeBron to pull up 10 years later and drop 42 on your head š pic.twitter.com/xEInQOOR7l
— HaterMuse (@HaterMuse) July 17, 2022
Also, like most of the world, Wright was owned by James, dropping 42 points effortlessly and grabbing 16 boards, four steals, and three assists. Wright’s face told the tale as James posted him up, backed him down, and shot field goals over him at will.
The spanking was a lesson seemingly traced to a pair of 2011 and 2013 Twitter posts of Wright in which he was highly critical of James.
“Heat are going to lose, what are you going to do next lebron back to Cleveland.”
Wright dissected James’ Game 6 performance at the 2011 Finals when the Miami Heat played against the Dallas Mavericks. Although he was right that the team would lose the game and the series 4-2, he clearly was one of the people that was still salty over “The Decision,” when James decided to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Bron really had this man fighting for his life š @brhoops pic.twitter.com/xEeInDNEh9
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) July 17, 2022
On July 8, 2010, the player-businessman changed landscape of the league for years when he uttered, “I’m going to take my talents to South Beach.”
Still, LeBron was the highest-scoring player in Game 1 and Game 6 with 24 and 21 points, respectively. But Wright’s tweeting wasn’t finished.
“Lebron not clutch at all,” Wright tweeted when the Heat took on the San Antonio Spurs. LeBron was the leading scorer in four of the seven games played, and ultimately his team won 4-3. During the game that Wright tweeted about specifically, James scored an impressive 32 points with 11 assists.
Wright has never played a game in the NBA. In fact, after his collegiate career, he has played his entire professional career overseas for international teams, mainly in Ukraine. Playing professional ball on any level is impressive so he is qualified to have an athletic opinion and trust he hears the noise. He also wasn’t a slouch against James dropping 20 points against him at the Drew League game.
Itās kind of funny everyone on the internet was calling me a bum you canāt be a bum and pull up here #RealHoopersKnowTheDealš¤£š¤£š¤£ pic.twitter.com/ZbCEPWW3Xh
— Dion Wright (@TheWrightHoops) July 28, 2022
“Itās kind of funny everyone on the internet was calling me a bum you canāt be a bum and pull up here #RealHoopersKnowTheDeal”
LeBron’s level in the NBA is like hitting the lottery of talent and opportunity. However, guys like Wright are out here living their dream and even getting the opportunity to compete against the top talent in the world. In fact, rather than give Wright a hard time for his Twitter fingers, James encouraged him instead.
https://twitter.com/TheWrightHoops/status/1551429415732535297?s=20&t=uXcuqd6SdJKBhV6RHvwQ4Q
“February 25th, 2022 > July 16th, 2022. I go from sitting behind the @Lakers bench to playing against @KingJames you told me after our game āI could really shoot itā Iām tired of going overseas I know I can knock down some of those shots in the purple & gold next season wassup?”
Although LeBron never tweeted anything about dropping 42 in the Drew League on what could be summed up as the opinions of a player-hater, Wright still felt what his opponents did and, one-on-one and with the team, didn’t make the grade.
The Drew League gave LeBron a glimpse of what it would have been like to partner with DeMar DeRozan on the Lakers, while DeRozan balanced the rigors of having his wife and girlfriend at the game. But underneath it all, he stayed undefeated by bringing it to a fellow player with a habit of trolling “The King.”