No longer content to simply dribble through his own legs, Cleveland Cavaliers legend LeBron James found a new way to amaze NBA fans on Thursday night by dribbling behind his back and through teammate Tristan Thompson’s legs while splitting a pair of Philadelphia 76ers defenders en route to a layup.
And as if that wasn’t incredible enough, the 33-year-old James was fouled on the play.
The play starts on the wing with James coming off a pick from Thompson on Philadelphia’s Robert Covington. 76ers center Joel Embiid switches on to James, who slices back to his right while putting the ball around his own back and through the unwitting Thompson’s legs.
From there James would make a contested layup look relatively easy while absorbing a foul from 76ers rookie Ben Simmons.
The play starts on the wing with LeBron James coming off a pick from Tristan Thompson (No. 13) on Philadelphia’s Robert Covington (No. 33 on the right)
LeBron James manages to split two 76ers defenders en route to a contested layup and a foul
76ers center Joel Embiid (No. 21) switches on to James, who slices back to his right while putting the ball around his own back and through the unwitting Thompson’s legs
As brilliant as the play was, whether or not James designed it that way is up for debate.
Before missing the free throw, James stopped to eye the replay on the scoreboard, but apparently didn’t understand the complexity of his maneuver until afterwards.
‘One of my guys from the NBA showed me and I was like, “OK, yeah, that’s probably one of the best plays I’ve had in my career,”‘ James told reporters, as quoted by ESPN.
The Cavaliers lost the game, but are still 6-3 since the trade deadline when they acquired newcomers Larry Nance Jr., Jordan Clarkson, George Hill, and Rodney Hood.
Before missing the free throw, James stopped to eye the replay on the scoreboard, but apparently didn’t understand the complexity of his maneuver until afterwards
Despite the defeat, James still had some fun on Twitter later, writing, ‘The young generation would say I was in my bag and haters will say it’s fake.’
The four-time MVP is having another remarkable season, carrying the streaky Cavaliers with 26.7 points, nine assists, and 8.4 rebounds a game while hitting an impressive 54.4 percent of his field goals.
The Cavaliers and 76ers may be doing battle again this summer, only this time, the two teams will be trying to sign the three-time NBA Finals champion.
Seemingly taking a cue from the Academy Award-nominated movie ‘Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,’ a Chester, Pennsylvania-based home remodeling company attempted to lurethe soon-to-be free agent to Philadelphia this summer with some strategically placed signage.
The company, Power Home Remodeling, paid for the use of three billboards just seven miles from Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena, where James and the Cavaliers lost to the 76ers on Thursday.
James tweeted ‘haters will say it’s fake,’ but he clearly made one of one of the year’s top plays
The first billboard features James’s number, 23, alongside those of four of the 76ers current starters: Dario Saric, Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, and Robert Covington
The second billboard reads, ‘Complete The Process,’ which is a reference to the oft-repeated phrase 76ers executives and coaches would use to plead for patience during Embiid’s lengthy road back from foot, knee, and back problems
The final billboard on I-480 in downtown Cleveland is a bit more direct: ‘#PhillyWantsLeBron’
Those traveling along I-480 in Cleveland have been seeing a billboard with James’s number, 23, alongside those of four of the 76ers’ current starters: Dario Saric, Embiid, Simmons, and Covington. LeBron’s number also happens to be wearing a crown, which is a reference to his nickname, ‘King James,’ just in case there was any confusion about which No. 23 the sign was referring to.
The second billboard reads, ‘Complete The Process,’ which is a reference to the oft-repeated phrase 76ers executives and coaches would used to plead for patience during Embiid’s lengthy road back from foot, knee, and back problems.
The final billboard is a bit more direct: ‘#PhillyWantsLeBron.’
‘We’re passionate about Philadelphia,’ said Asher Raphael, the company’s co-CEO told ESPN. ‘We have an amazing city, it’s the best sports town and it’s an awesome place to live. We think the best athletes should want to play here.’
A Cleveland company responded with a billboard in the city that featured a crown and read ‘HEY PHILLY, #THELANDOFTHEKING.’
Cleveland had its own response to the three billboards aimed at wooing James to the 76ers