LeBron James threw a full tantrum at refs as Lakers eventually avoided sweep

The Lakers and LeBron James picked up a crucial win Saturday night after beating the Nuggets to avoid a clean sleep in the first round. But even though they won, the relationship between James, other Lakers players and head coach Darvin Ham is clearly less than ideal.

The interaction that caught everyone in Crypto.com Arena and the media off-guard was when James had a temper tantrum on the Lakers bench. Near the end of the game, he slammed his feet on the ground and yelled at the coaches while Jamal Murray got an easy layup for the Nuggets.

An out-of-bounds call went in Denver's favor, even though James thought the ball should have been given to the Lakers. Ham and the rest of the coaching staff decided not to challenge it and let the game go on. That then sparked the tantrum. After later replays, it did appear that the ball was off the Nuggets first and should've been Lakers ball.

Is LeBron James upset with Darvin Ham and his Lakers teammates?

This gives us another reason to speculate that Lakers players, and especially LeBron, don't fully respect Ham. But at the same time, this isn't the first time LeBron has thrown a tantrum on the court; it's kind of a regular thing to see. Its just usually towards the refs, not his own coaches.

The most well-known tantrum was last season after the Lakers lost to the Boston Celtics. LeBron went to the floor and started banging his hand against the court. The Lakers ultimately lost that game, but James was pleading for a foul call.

Ultimately, the Lakers avoided a sweep from the defending champions. James finished with 30 points, five rebounds, four assists, and three steals while shooting 14 for 23 from the field. James is now the oldest player in NBA playoff history with this line in a game.

Yet, the Lakers are still staring down a 3-1 deficit and now have to travel back to Denver to continue its season.