Top 100 moments of the 2018-19 NBA season, Part 2

44. Los Angeles Lakers get lambasted by 42 amidst trade rumors

Believe it or not, a young player hearing his name involved in constantly swirling trade rumors can have an impact on his performance. That goes for veterans too, and in either case, it’s especially true when you’re playing under the brightest lights in the NBA, alongside its most prestigious player.

The Los Angeles Lakers got a full dose of this on Feb. 5, when they were massacred by the Victor Oladipo-less Indiana Pacers by 42 points. It was the worst loss in LeBron James’ Hall of Fame career, and it was hard to blame anyone but the King (and his agent, Rich Paul) for what was transpiring.

This was the lasting image of that game and the Lakers’ trade deadline turmoil in general, and it was hard to forget:

Yeah, yeah, yeah: LeBron James normally sits that far down the bench, this wasn’t anything new, blah, blah, blah. Given the context of this game, what the score was at this point, and the fact that LeBron’s teammates all thought his agent was trying to trade them for Anthony Davis, the gap between the King and his young teammates was literally measurable in this moment.

Injuries are what derailed the Lakers’ season the most, and Magic Johnson and Rob Pelinka’s team-building around the King left a ton to be desired, but there was no denying it: LeBron James was not a good leader in 2018-19, his agent’s manipulation behind the scenes backfired in a big way, and Los Angeles’ very public pining for AD unraveled this team at the seams. This was the moment everyone knew the Lakers weren’t getting their second superstar, that they had wasted a year of LeBron and that this season was going to be a disappointment.