During the Miami years of LeBron James, many people tried to get into the King’s head to destabilize him in his quest for the NBA title. Very few have succeeded, but former Pacers player Lance Stephenson deserves all our respect for showing great creativity in his attempts.
A hothead who made a name for himself in the NBA on the side of Indiana during the first part of the 2010s, the one who was nicknamed “Born Ready” had talent in his hands, a great versatility in his game as well as good bases. defensive. But Pacers fans will remember him most for his “crazy-crazy” side.
On May 28, 2014, in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Miami Heatles and the Indiana Pacers, Lance Stephenson did what only Lance Stephenson could do. During this meeting, where he struggled in particular in defense against LeBron, Dwyane Wade and Co., Lance found himself side by side with the King during a stoppage of play. That’s when we got an all-time moment.
Rare, raw footage of Lance Stephenson blowing in LeBron’s ear during the 2014 playoffs. Yes, it’s been 4 years! pic.twitter.com/FhGZBn6HAA
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) April 15, 2018
No, you’re not dreaming, the Pacers player… whispers in James’ ear, who can’t help but let out a mini smile in “that guy’s crazy” mode.
This is perhaps the best-known “action” of Lance Stephenson’s career. An action that will forever be attached to the man, who has become a meme on Twitter, and which symbolizes this very atypical character that is Stephenson.
“There were a lot of times when we trashtalked each other, where we bumped into each other. I was really trying to piss him off, distract him, I was trying my best to help us win.
When you try to unsettle a player and they don’t respond, you try to find a way to get inside their head. I was just trying to frustrate him. I don’t regret it, but sometimes I wonder why I did that. I didn’t expect it to be filmed. It was crazy.”
– Lance Stephenson
During the first part of the 2010s, the Pacers met the LeBron-Wade-Bosh trio Heat three times in a row in the Playoffs, and Lance often tried to provoke the King. We’ve seen him choke signs, we’ve seen him voluntarily put his hand in LBJ’s face, we’ve seen him flop, and so much more. But nothing will ever match this scene where he blew into LeBron’s ear.
Fun fact to accompany the story: LeBron James finished this game with just 7 points on the clock, his lowest total in the Playoffs of his entire career. One would like to say that Lance Stephenson’s legendary action completely derailed the King, but the truth is that the latter was mostly hampered by fouls in this meeting, where he played only 24 minutes in total.
LeBron James will eventually get revenge in Game 6 of the series by scoring 25 points to take the Heatles to a fourth consecutive NBA Finals. However, this will not take anything away from the genius of Lance, who a few years later will have the leisure to play alongside the King at the Lakers.
➡️ 256 pages
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All this to tell you about the crazy adventure of one of the legendary teams in NBA history: the Heatles of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh! ???????????? https://t.co/Vn6eiDewkY
— Nico TrashTalk ???? (@nicolasmeichel) April 24, 2023
2023-05-28 10:32:00
#Lance #Stephenson #man #blew #LeBron #James #ear
