LeBron James is difficult to officiate.
He’s stronger and faster than his opponents, so he both initiates and receives more contact than most players. He’s this era’s Shaquille O’Neal, who dealt with similar issues.
Cavaliers coach Tyronn Lue said during the Finals that referees haven’t found the right balance – and apparently LeBron agrees.
This leak is LeBron, or someone on his behalf, lobbying for a more favorable whistle. Will it work? He does have outsized influence on the league.
By the way, the call that had reportedly LeBron particularly irate came when he heard Jazz coach Quin Snyder call for Shelvin Mack to intentionally foul LeBron – and it still got no call:
Uncalled intentional fouls are not unique to LeBron, and they expose a deficiency in the entire system. Referees can’t see everything on the court. Perhaps, larger officiating crews would help. Leveraging technology to call things like three-second violations and out of bounds could also free human referees to watch for more discretionary calls. But when players aren’t always whistled when intentionally hacking, something is wrong.