Ref: LeBron ejected after he 'threw an air punch directly at me'
David Richard-USA TODAY Sports / Action Images
It only took 1,082 regular-season games over 14 years, but LeBron James was ejected from his first NBA game Tuesday night in Cleveland's rout of the Miami Heat. While James maintains he was fouled by James Johnson, referee Kane Fitzgerald saw it differently.
"It was a culmination of a couple different acts," Fitzgerald said per the official's pool report via The Athletic's Jason Lloyd. "Immediately after the no-call (James) turned and threw an air punch directly at me and then he aggressively charged at me and then he used vulgarity in my ear a few times."
(Courtesy NBA League Pass)
Fitzgerald also clarified that he ejected James on one technical foul, not a double. Either way, Fitzgerald has his own place in NBA history now.