lebron james blatant travel

LeBron James Was Called For a Pretty Blatant Travel and People Still Got Mad Online

By stephen douglas | mar 29, 2023.

The Los Angeles Lakers visited the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night after losing to them in LA on Sunday. And a funny thing happened. LeBron James got called for a travel. It was a pretty easy call for the officials and Bulls announcer Stacey King hit visiting star with a solid one-liner. You would think that would be it, but this is the Internet.

"DID YOU BRING A PASSPORT WITH YOU?" Bulls announcers didn't hold back on Bron 😅 pic.twitter.com/38X4n720Se — NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) March 30, 2023

First, many people who see this clip assume that the travel was not called because players - sometimes even LeBron himself - often get away with this sort of thing. So there are people mad or annoyed at the NBA and its officials for a correct call.

And then there are people in the replies to the above video arguing that it wasn't actually a travel because he was gathering . I swear to you that those people exist. There is truly no limit to what you will argue if venture into basketball Twitter. This league indeed.

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LeBron James Absolutely Got His Money’s Worth on Egregious Traveling Call

• Author: Karl Rasmussen

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In what was a rather unusual occurrence,  Lakers  star  LeBron James  actually was called for traveling Wednesday night.

During a matchup against the  Bulls  in Chicago, James committed one of the most egregious travels of the season, prompting a whistle from the referee. 

James, who was attempting to attack the basket, could be seen taking as many as five steps and even leaving the ground with both feet as he ran into traffic in the lane. 

While officials blowing the whistle for a travel has become something of a lost art in the NBA, LeBron’s violation was simply too egregious to ignore.

His walk generated quite the response from the Bulls’ television commentators, too. Stacey King hilariously demanded to see James’s passport after the 38-year-old practically stutter-stepped into the paint.

“Hey buddy, did you bring a passport with you? Oh my goodness!” King said after James was called for traveling. 

After getting past Patrick Williams, some solid help defense from Nikola Vucevic forced James to pick up his dribble, and from there, he took the additional steps.

Although traveling violations are often overlooked at this level of the game, there are instances where the infraction is too blatant to let slide. This was, without question, one of those instances for LeBron. 

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LeBron James goes viral with blatant travel vs. Jazz: ‘One of the worst things I’ve ever done’

“I think I was ready to pass the ball, and my brain just kind of just, I had a malfunction,” James said. ”I really had a malfunction.

“I feel bad for the refs on that one because they’ll probably get a write-up on that or something. That was pretty bad,” LeBron James said of a travel no-call during Wednesday’s game against the Jazz.

Rick Bowmer/AP

Maybe it was the fact the Los Angeles Lakers were on the second night of a back-to-back but for a brief moment in Wednesday night’s game against the Utah Jazz, it looked like LeBron James had forgotten exactly where he was.

As the Lakers jumped out to a 34-26 lead in the first quarter, James appeared to think he was in a summer pick-up game rather than on an NBA floor playing against the Jazz. Luckily for LeBron, however, the referees who were watching him may have forgotten where they were too.

During this possession in the first quarter, James picked up his dribble to take three steps before starting his dribble again. It looked like he was making sure everyone knew what the score was or something.

LeBron got away with one 😅 pic.twitter.com/Uv4uMKKcDi — SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 5, 2019

James, who finished with 20 points and 12 assists in the Lakers’ 121-96 victory, told reporters after the game that the Freudian travel was “probably one of the worst things I’ve ever done in my career.”

“I didn’t realize it until halftime,” James said, via ESPN . “One of my coaches showed me.”

Jazz forward Bojan Bogdanovic, who was guarding the ball, became incredulous at the no-call and pointed enthusiastically at James. James said a collision under the basket between teammate Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell distracted him in the moment.

“I feel bad for the refs on that one because they’ll probably get a write-up on that or something. That was pretty bad.”

Despite the brief miscue, James has his squad in a good position to come out of their treacherous Denver-Utah back-to-back with a 2-0 record.

It wasn’t the only viral moment of the night for James. Late in the fourth quarter, with the outcome decided and his place on the bench secured for the night, James gave away his purple and yellow kicks to a youngster in the stands.

Jazz getting boat raced by LA and LeBron is just standing on the court taunting with his towel during live play. A1 disrespect. pic.twitter.com/ZH0teHoY1B — Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) December 5, 2019

When Kyle Kuzma stuffed Tony Bradley twice in a row, James crept off the bench and led the celebration, winding up almost under the basket in only his socks.

The victory also marked James’ first win in Utah since Dec. 8, 2010.

Read more at usatoday.com

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The NBA’s 9 most hilarious missed travel calls

How were these plays not called for traveling?

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LeBron James said his travel against the Utah Jazz was the worst one of his life, and folks, he was not wrong. James dribbled the ball past the halfcourt line, then just walked a bit before remembering to dribble it again. That is not how basketball is played. Yet somehow, none of the referees blew their whistle.

LeBron got away with one pic.twitter.com/Uv4uMKKcDi — SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 5, 2019

During the game, James talked to a fan after realizing how awful the play was. “I didn’t even know I did it until I saw it at halftime,” he said. “That’s the worst I’ve ever done. Yeah, that was f-cked up.”

LeBron to a fan about his no-call travel/double-dribble: “Yeah I know that was bad. That was real bad. I didn’t even know I did it until I saw it at half-time. That’s the worst I’ve ever done. Yeah, that was f-cked up. I feel bad for them though.” pic.twitter.com/YNffJPN1t9 — Yoni (@OriginalYoni) December 5, 2019

“I think I was ready to pass the ball,” James said after the game, according to ESPN , “and my brain just kind of just, I had a malfunction. I really had a malfunction ... I feel bad for the refs on that one because they’ll probably get a write-up on that or something.”

James’ travel was hilariously bad, but it’s far from the first time a player’s egregiously messed up and forgot to put the ball on the ground. Here are some of the best travels to not get called by the officials.

Bradley Beal ’s gallop

Blake Griffin ’s defense psyched out Beal , who, after taking his two steps on a drive to the hoop, took three more steps.

No whistle.

Worst of all, referees after the game stood by the call!

“The offensive player gathers with his right foot on the ground,” the official ref account tweeted . “He then takes two legal steps, before losing control of the ball. After regaining possession, a player is allowed to regain his pivot foot and pass or shoot prior to that foot returning to the ground. This is legal.”

The time Dirk Nowitzki played hopscotch

Nowitzki really just kept taking mini bunny hops going backwards. He took seven steps! Seven!

Kemba Walker’s jump-and-spin

Walker’s hop-step was a total mess, and his awkward landing sent him into another spin and a half-step and then ... a layup? The Celtics’ defense had a right to be Mad As Hell.

Take a bus next time, Kemba... pic.twitter.com/vbTeDh7FUT — Dime (@DimeUPROXX) April 12, 2016

Kendrick Perkins ’ nine-step walk

NINE! 9! (NINE?!)

Perkins kept changing his pivot foot and not a single soul in black-and-white stripes paid attention. They thought this looked fine:

WATCH: Kendrick Perkins' 9-step travel highlights this edition of "Shaqtin' A Fool!" https://t.co/tvDm4hycAP — NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) April 10, 2015

Dwyane Wade ’s seven-step travel

Wade dribbled down the court, similar to James, and appeared to do some stretching with the ball over his head while changing his pivot foot over and over again. In basketball, you simply can not do that.

Josh Smith’s 20+-step travel

This is so bad that I have no words.

Corey Brewer ’s dunk travel

In comparison to some of his colleagues, Brewer taking six steps before dunking wasn’t all that bad!

James Harden ’s double step-back

The best for last. This one is so legendary that it even had a failed reboot. Harden shuffled his feet backwards twice for a walk so obvious that nobody called it.

Months later, Steph Curry did it ... but he got whistled!

They just called a travel on Steph for doing the Harden double stepback. Ha pic.twitter.com/6HGgE55rfZ — Drew Shiller (@DrewShiller) January 6, 2019

Harden is, to date, our uncalled travel king.

Next time you complain that a specific player “always gets away with travels,” remember: They are not the only ones.

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WATCH: LeBron James’ Face Says It All After Blatant Travel

LeBron James , by all accounts, played a superb first half on Saturday in Game 1 of Cleveland’s first-round series against the Pacers.

But even the King can look silly at times.

LeBron was caught in the air as he looked to make a pass. But with no teammate open, LeBron landed with the ball still in his hands.

It was a blatant travel, and LeBron knew it. His face afterward says it all.

Bron's face says it all. 😂😂 pic.twitter.com/oYVbbGyiGw — SLAM (@SLAMonline) April 15, 2017

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Since the beginning // this nike air zoom generation collab celebrates slam’s 30th anniversary , from lebron james to maya moore, author andrew maraniss latest work is for every generation of hoops fans, looking back at lebron james’ all-star weekend fits over the years.

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LeBron James says uncalled travel 'one of the worst' of his career

LeBron James describes what happened on his travel that the referees missed in the first quarter of the Lakers-Jazz game. (0:36)

• Covered the Lakers and NBA for ESPNLosAngeles.com from 2009-14, the Cavaliers from 2014-18 for ESPN.com and the NBA for NBA.com from 2005-09. Follow on X

SALT LAKE CITY -- LeBron James broke a personal seven-game road losing streak to the Utah Jazz , dating back to December 2010, in the Los Angeles Lakers ' 121-96 win Wednesday, but there was one sequence he would like to get back.

As James was bringing the ball past half court in the first quarter, he picked up his dribble and proceeded to take 3½ steps -- making it from the "A" to the "H" of Utah's midcourt signage -- before putting the ball on the floor again, with no travel call made by the official.

"It was the worst thing, probably one of the worst things I've ever done in my career," James said after the game, essentially admitting his final line of 20 points, 12 assists and just one turnover should have included a second turnover. "I didn't realize I did it until halftime. One of my coaches showed me."

Jazz forward Bojan Bogdanovic didn't take quite as long to recognize the miscue, signaling to referee Jacyn Goble as soon as it happened.

James said he was distracted by a collision involving Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Donovan Mitchell and absent-mindedly kept shuffling his feet as he checked it out.

"I think at the same time, I was watching the underneath play, and KCP and Donovan got into it. KCP started to run, and Donovan bumped into him, he fell on the ground," James said. "I think I was ready to pass the ball, and my brain just kind of just, I had a malfunction. I really had a malfunction."

James had fun with a fan heckling him about the play in the third quarter by heckling himself right back.

"That's one of the worst ones I've ever done in my life," he could be heard saying to the fan on the Spectrum SportsNet broadcast of the game.

Lakers guard Danny Green said he finally saw James' happy feet in the postgame locker room.

"I was wondering where I was when it happened. I'm like, 'When the hell did this happen?' So, yeah, I didn't catch it," Green said. "But it was funny to see after the game."

James, who has publicly critiqued NBA officiating several times this season, acknowledged he was the beneficiary of a no-call this time around.

"I feel bad for the refs on that one because they'll probably get a write-up on that or something," James said. "That was pretty bad."

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Watch: LeBron James gets away with most blatant travel of all time

If what happened on Wednesday night in the Los Angeles Lakers-Utah Jazz game won’t convince you that the NBA will let LeBron James get away with anything, nothing will.

During the first quarter of the game, LeBron was caught with the most blatant travel imaginable as he brought the ball towards the three-point line.

LeBron got away with one pic.twitter.com/Uv4uMKKcDi — SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 5, 2019

James walked two full steps while holding the ball and made no attempt to dribble, and the official did not call anything on him. Bojan Bogdanovic, who was guarding James, could not believe no call was made.

James is the star of the league and receives preferential treatment, but you still shouldn’t let him get away with something that egregious. That was easily the most embarrassing play by LeBron since his one in March .

Lakers fans , show everyone who runs LA with this great T-shirt :

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LeBron James gets away with travel in first quarter of blowout win vs. Utah Jazz

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LeBron James received - by his own admission - the most blatant superstar treatment of his career Wednesday night against the Utah Jazz .

In the first quarter of the game, the Los Angeles Lakers star was dribbling past half court when he stopped for a moment, took a few steps and then continued to dribble. An incredulous Jazz defender Bojan Bogdanovic raised his arms in a show of exasperation that no call was made.

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James said after the game he got distracted by a collision between his teammate Kentavios Caldwell-Pope and Jazz star Donovan Mitchell, according to ESPN .

“I think at the same time, I was watching the underneath play, and [Kentavious Caldwell-Pope] and Donovan got into it. KCP started to run, and Donovan bumped into him, he fell on the ground,” he said. “I think I was ready to pass the ball, and my brain just kind of just, I had a malfunction. I really had a malfunction.”

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James was heckled by a fan about the call in the third quarter and joked back that it was “one of the worst ones I’ve ever done in my life.”

The Lakers led by eight after the first quarter and went on to win the game 121-96 to improve to 19-3 on the season. The Jazz fell to 12-10.

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James scored 20 points, grabbed four rebounds and dished out 12 assists in the win. Anthony Davis led the Lakers with 26 points, six rebounds and three blocks.

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Lebron james got away with the most blatant travel against the lakers, share this article.

Fans like to give NBA officials a hard time for their loose and inconsistent enforcement of traveling rules.

And while that criticism seems unfair at times — officials do call travels! — NBA refs didn’t exactly help their cause during Sunday’s Lakers-Cavs game.

LeBron James literally started walking without taking a dribble, and no travel was called. It doesn’t get any more blatant than this.

pic.twitter.com/vReb72rZu7 — jayjay okocha (@BIGwater22i) March 12, 2018

LeBron received the inbounds pass and took a solid four steps before he bothered to dribble the ball.

And sure, it was a totally inconsequential moment, and calling a travel in that moment would have certainly stunned the Cavaliers. But what’s the point of having rules if they don’t get enforced?

That was a travel. It should have been called as such.

The Lakers did go on to win, 127-113.

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LeBron James says he had a 'malfunction' after committing one of the worst travels of the season

• LeBron James committed a blatant travel on Wednesday against the Utah Jazz that the referees missed completely.
• After the game, James said he had a "malfunction," calling it one of the worst plays of his career.
• James also said he felt bad for the ref who missed it, knowing he will likely be criticized.
• Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories .

On Wednesday, LeBron James committed a blatant travel that went uncalled, much to the bemusement of the Utah Jazz and their fans and the amusement of the NBA world.

In the first quarter, James brought the ball past half-court, picked up his dribble with one hand, took several steps, then resumed dribbling. Somehow, the referees missed what was a travel and a double-dribble, even as Jazz guard Bojan Bogdanovic hollered about the violation.

"It was the worst thing, probably one of the worst things I've ever done in my career," James told reporters after the game.

"I think I was ready to pass the ball, and my brain just kind of just, I had a malfunction. I really had a malfunction."

Here's the play:

—Brian Taylor (@RealGolfBT) December 5, 2019

The Lakers beat the Jazz, 121-96, as James finished with 20 points and 12 assists.

After the game, he also said he felt bad for the referee who missed the call because of the criticism.

"I feel bad for the refs on that one because they'll probably get a write-up on that or something," James said. "That was pretty bad."

The NBA world has had fun with the mishap, however.

—Beyonce has an uncle named Larry Beyince. Bruh.... (@DragonflyJonez) December 5, 2019

—Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) December 5, 2019

And: The Proclaimers-LeBron James mash-up you didn't know you needed.

—TVsOwnBillyD (@Billyd2411) December 5, 2019

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clock This article was published more than  4 years ago

LeBron James’s blatant travel is the latest blunder by NBA refs

NBA referees haven’t exactly been showering themselves in glory this week.

On Tuesday, the officials in the Houston Rockets-San Antonio Spurs game ruled that James Harden’s very obvious dunk was not a dunk in a double-overtime game Houston would lose by two points. And on Wednesday, they missed LeBron James walk the ball up the court in the truest sense of the phrase.

LeBron got away with one 😅 pic.twitter.com/Uv4uMKKcDi — SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) December 5, 2019

Even James couldn’t believe that his 3½-step first-quarter stroll without dribbling wasn’t called, telling ESPN that it probably was “one of the worst things I’ve ever done in my career.” He explained that he had gotten distracted by a collision under the basket between Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Donovan Mitchell.

“I think at the same time, I was watching the underneath play, and KCP and Donovan got into it. KCP started to run, and Donovan bumped into him. He fell on the ground,” James said. “I think I was ready to pass the ball, and my brain just kind of just — I had a malfunction. I really had a malfunction.”

James and NBA referees have long had a somewhat frosty relationship, going back to the days when the referees first had to interpret the legality of his “crab dribble.” In 2018 , he chided them for protecting jump-shooters more than players who drive to the basket. Following a game last season in which the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Russell Westbrook was awarded three late free throws even though replays showed he was fouled before shooting, James took to Twitter to express his displeasure:

So what really is “in the shooting motion” rule?!?!? Asking for a friend @OfficialNBARefs 🤔 — LeBron James (@KingJames) January 18, 2019

But after he wasn’t caught red-handed Wednesday night, James said he hopes the league goes easy on the officials for missing the call.

“I feel bad for the refs on that one because they’ll probably get a write-up on that or something,” he said. “That was pretty bad.”

As for the refs’ previous faux pas this week, ESPN’s Tim MacMahon reported Wednesday night that the Rockets will likely file an official protest with the league over Harden’s not-counted dunk to ensure that the NBA investigates (even though that probe already had begun, MacMahon said). League rules state the team had 48 hours to lodge the protest. MacMahon also reported that the NBA is unlikely to simply award the win to the Rockets, as they have desired, with the game more likely to be replayed from the moment of Harden’s dunk.

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• Chicago Bulls

Bulls: LeBron James savagely roasted by Chicago announcers after blatant travel

LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers are in Windy City Wednesday night for another matchup against the Chicago Bulls, but...

Rexwell Villas

LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers are in Windy City Wednesday night for another matchup against the Chicago Bulls , but that's not the only  traveling the four-time league MVP did.

In the game's first quarter, LeBron James got called for taking too many steps, eliciting a hilarious reaction from Bulls announcer Stacey King.

“Did you bring a passport with you?” King blurted as the replay of LeBron James' infraction was being played.

James was trying to get away from the defense of Bulls forward Patrick Williams as he looked to attack the basket, but Nikola Vucevic stepped in and shut the door on the Lakers superstar. LeBron appeared as though he was aiming to drop a pass to Anthony Davis but hesitated and opted to get the ball to somebody else before being whistled for a turnover.

There's nothing quite like a LeBron James traveling turnover. It happens to even the best of the best in the game, but it does really catches more attention when it's a future Hall of Famer being caught taking extra steps.

In any case, James and the Lakers need to win this game in order to keep their hopes alive of locking a guaranteed spot in the playoffs. The Lakers, who lost to the Bulls 118-108 in LA last Sunday, entered Wednesday's game with a 36-39 record — good for just ninth in the Western Conference standings .

As for the Bulls, they are also still fighting for at least a Play-In Tournament spot in the Eastern Conference.

Rexwell Villas is an experienced sports writer covering a variety of sports, including the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and college football. He's a Communications Arts graduate from the University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines.

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