Rondo dismisses criticism for sitting in front row: 'Real story' was LeBron

Rajon Rondo's decision to sit in the first row of fan seating late in the Los Angeles Lakers' loss to the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday was one of those only-in-the-NBA moments that got social media buzzing.

But Rondo fired back at his critics Thursday, saying the scrutiny was out of place given that LeBron James passed Michael Jordan for fourth all-time in NBA scoring earlier in the same game.

"The real story that everyone should be talking about right now is how my teammate, Lebron (sic) James, accomplished a huge milestone in last night's game," Rondo wrote in an Instagram post.

"Y'all are so busy analyzing what happened in the last 48 seconds of the game that y'all missed the opportunity to highlight, congratulate, and praise Lebron (sic) wholeheartedly on his accomplishment," the post continued. "Most of y'all have made a career out of discussing Lebron James, and y'all can't pay the man some respect."

To be fair, it's plausible Rondo missed most of the ensuing news cycle, including vast swaths of Twitter users chiming in and Jordan himself congratulating James.