There’s no love lost between the Los Angeles Lakers and Memphis Grizzlies , who face off for the second time this season Wednesday (10 p.m. ET on ESPN ).
The two sides memorably matched up in the first round of the 2023 NBA playoffs, with the Lakers victorious in six games. The series was headlined by the interactions between LeBron James and then-Grizzlies forward Dillon Brooks . However, the bad blood between the Western Conference foes started earlier than that.
James and Desmond Bane engaged in trash talk during a January 2022 game, including James yelling at the Memphis guard : “That’s your last motherf—ing time. That’s your last time disrespecting me.”
It created a viral moment, but, over two years later, any potential bad history looked to be in the rearview mirror. At least that’s what it seemed until last week.
Memphis defeated Los Angeles 131-114 at home and the beef slightly percolated. Here’s a look back at the bad blood between the two sides from that Nov. 6 matchup.