LeBron, Ham fire back at Kerr's claims of flopping

LeBron James took issue with Steve Kerr's recent comments that the Los Angeles Lakers were gaining an edge in their second-round series by frequently embellishing contact.

"We're just not a team that goes out there looking for flopping opportunities. That's just not us," James told reporters after the Lakers' Game 5 loss to the Golden State Warriors. "It's actually never been any team I've played on in my 20 years where we've been a flopping team."

The discrepancy at the charity stripe has become a hot topic throughout the series. Los Angeles has attempted 52 more free throws than Golden State - including a 20-12 advantage in Game 4 - prompting Kerr to vocalize his displeasure with the opposing side.

"The Lakers are a team that plays with a lot of gamesmanship," Kerr said following Monday's contest. "They understand how to generate some calls. I thought they took some flops and were rewarded."

Prior to Game 5, the Warriors bench boss doubled down on his assessment and gave the Lakers credit for doing "whatever it takes to win."

Lakers head coach Darvin Ham appeared to throw shade at Kerr's claims during his on-court interview following the opening quarter of Game 5 and in his press conference after the contest.

"We play a physical brand of basketball. We don't teach flopping," Ham said. "We don't teach head snaps. You see Bron, (and) he's got a thousand scratches on his arms, same with (Anthony Davis), same with Austin Reaves, same with Lonnie Walker.

"It's unfortunate that it comes to that, but we hadn't done that all year, and we're damn sure not going to start now. Looking for a third party to dive in and help us. We're just going to coach our team, just going to play the way we play - a physical, forceful brand of basketball - and just let the chips fall where they may."