The NBA playoffs are full of joy and heartbreak. You either see your team in a refocused, more aggressive mode or get dismantled in a seven-game series.
A 40 year old LeBron James and his Los Angeles Lakers were a case of the latter as they failed to get over the hump that was a young and hungry Anthony Edwards-led Minnesota Timberwolves.
The Wolves dominated most of the series, but their performance in game five even led to Shaq complimenting Rudy Gobert, who dropped a game-high 27 points and grabbed 24 rebounds in their 103-96 win.
As the Lakers are sent home, it’s just another first-round exit similar to last year’s. Aside from the debatable 2020 bubble ring, the previous half-decade consisted of terrible performances like a Western Conference Finals sweep and missing the playoffs altogether.
James has been accused of not having the same fire he had when younger and was even criticized for joking around with Edwards during a mid-postseason game. And now, he’s having his annual moment of clarity, where he promises to sit with those close to him to discuss his NBA future.
The team has adjusted to the blackbuster trade that yielded them Luka Doncic, but he winced up and down the court with a back injury in game five despite a 28-point performance.
But the biggest critique of the series doesn’t go to the players or a mid-season trade that disrupts familiarity; it’s the coaching. First-year head coach JJ Redick is bearing the brunt of the blame, and it seemed to get to him when he stormed out of a press conference after he was asked about his lack of substitutions in the second half of Game four.
In that same moment ESPN’s Brian Windhorst critiqued him for being “childish” and roasted him for playing Maxi Kleber — in crucial game 5 minutes—who’s never played with the team before since being part of the Doncic trade.
But as James and company get a head start on a trip to Cancun, Edwards is ecstatic to advance to round two.
“Ant-Man, Batman, Superman…Lakers in 5,” he said, walking the halls after.
He even took a victory lap around the block to gloat about the win, trash-talking a small group of Lakers fans who followed him, dapping up fans, and waxing poetic about how much he loves the movie Matilda.
Anthony Edwards takes a victory lap outside Crypto Arena after eliminating the Lakers
“They said ‘Lakers in 5,’ and when we was up 3-1, they said ‘Lakers in 7.’ Go to hell today… Good guys don’t die in this movie, Morris Chestnut died in this movie”
— FearBuck (@FearedBuck) May 1, 2025
Now we wait to see if the Wolves will face the Houston Rockets or the Golden State Warriors in the next round, and Ant-Man has made it very clear he’s ready to trash-talk Draymond Green.
See how social media is reacting to the opening series wrapping up below.