LeBron James has had an amazing career, but it’s not without controversy. For all the baskets he’s scored and assists he’s dished out, looms the dark cloud of his incredibly soft play for more than two decades. The most recent evidence of this is his crying after a loss to the Denver Nuggets, in which the Los Angeles Lakers star criticizes the refs for not giving him foul calls when he blatantly flops like a fish on the deck of a boat.

Late in last night’s game, James drove to the hoop, and Nuggets star Nikola Jokic slid over to play defense, his hands straight up in the air. The two players brushed jerseys as James attempted a layup, which sent the 6’8, 240-pound forward flailing through the air, hands waving and body spinning, as he threw himself hard on the floor. James rolled around holding his elbow before taking himself out of the game.

In the postgame, while talking to reporters, James blasted the referees for explaining the lack of contact as marginal. “It’s the same sh**,” he said, clearly frustrated. “Marginal.’ It’s the same sh**. That’s all they keep saying is ‘marginal.’ I’m so f***ing tired of that word. It doesn’t make no sense.”

What actually makes no sense is why James continues to pretend he’s hit by a semi truck any time someone makes contact with him, even though the refs have clearly explained to him they aren’t going to make that call. He’s lucky the result of his bad acting isn’t more than a sore elbow. He should be getting fined by the league for his excessive flopping.

LeBron James Flopping Is Why He Wouldn’t Succeed In The 80’s And 90’s

There is a growing group of NBA fans who believe James is the greatest basketball player of all time, and that he would have dominated the 1980’s and 1990’s in Wilt-like fashion. The argument is about his incredible physique and athleticism, and how it would translate to physical domination. While he would be a specimen unlike any other in the league, his lack of toughness would be exposed over and over.

It’s one thing to pretend to get injured when someone gets into his personal space, but how would he react to playing in a league where opposing teams would actually try to injure him, and it wouldn’t even be a flagrant foul? Players would be banned for life today for some of the fouls they were allowed to commit three decades ago.

The book The Jordan Rules outlines how the gameplan of the Bad Boy Pistons, when playing against Michael Jordan, was to hammer him every time he came across the lane, and to put him on the floor any time he jumped. Ironically, there is no documentation of Jordan complaining about the word “marginal”. There’s actually little record of Jordan complaining in general. Some guys just played the game.

James is a Hall of Fame talent, and he is one of the best players in history, but his lack of toughness is concerning, and it is why somepeople don’t think he’s all that. Someone should tell him that he is 6’8 and 240, and to stop playing like he’s Earl Boykins or Spudd Webb. Basketball is a physical game, and if he doesn’t like the refs ignoring when he is tapped on the shoulder, he might be better suited as a cheerleader than a player. Actually, and this is not a joke, he would need to toughen up to do that job, too.