Rui Hachimura speaks up for LeBron James, who refuses to trash-talk Dillon Brooks

Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James walked away from his post-practice media availability Friday following a five-minute inquisition by reporters trying to bait the 20-year NBA veteran into trash-talking Memphis Grizzlies guard Dillon Brooks.

Brooks, 27, "poked" fun at the 38-year-old James after Memphis defeated Los Angeles in Game 2 on Wednesday. The Grizzlies guard stared down the King when he hit a triple in the final frame and continued talking trash in his postgame presser.

Dillon Brooks calls LeBron James "old" and says he won't respect him until scoring 40 points

"I don't care -- he's old. You know what I mean?" Brooks said. "I was waiting for that. I was expecting him to do that Game 4, Game 5. He wanted to say something when I got my fourth foul.

"He should have been saying that earlier on. But I poke bears. I don't respect no one until they come and give me 40."

James refused to fall for the media's trick and finished his press conference by saying he's "not here for the bulls---."

Rui Hachimura stands up for LeBron James

Rui Hachimura, who so far has been a spark off the bench for the Purple & Gold thorughout the 2023 NBA Playoffs, stood up for James when asked about Brooks.

Hachimura, 25, said the Lakers are not worried about an immature team because the game is won on the court.

"I heard about it," Hachimura said . "I'm not really into social media, but I heard about it. Honestly, that's all they can do. They're a young team. They just want to talk. We just don't really care. We're going to play our game and we're trying to win the games."

Game 3 tipoff is scheduled for Saturday at 19:00 PT from Crypto.com Arena, where the Lakers will look to regain the series lead.

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