“I took the bet while I was still shooting the ball”
Eighteen years into his NBA career, LeBron James is still finding new ways to impress.
The Lakers picked up an easy win over the Rockets in Houston on Tuesday—it was so easy, in fact, that LeBron and his teammates were showboating in the middle of the second quarter. With just under eight minutes left before halftime, LeBron found himself wide open in front of the Los Angeles bench for a corner three attempt. He took his time to get both feet behind the arc, pump fake and throw up the shot. The moment it left his hands, he turned around to stare at his teammates on the bench.
Once the shot fell, the bench went into a frenzy.
What LeBron revealed after the game about the shot makes it even cooler. If you look closely at the closeup angle at the end of the video, you can see Dennis Schröder saying something to LeBron as he prepares to shoot. LeBron told reporters that Schröder said to him, “Bet you won’t make it.”
“I took the bet while I was still shooting the ball,” James said. “In order to make a bet official, you’ve either got to have a handshake or you’ve got to look a man in the eye. I turned around, looked him in the eye and said, ‘Bet.’”
The confidence and presence of mind to be aware of what Schröder said, and immediately acknowledge it while having faith that you’re not going to miss and look stupid is ridiculous. There was a risk that LeBron could have ended up embarrassing himself like former Laker Nick Young, but he’s too smart to let that happen.
LeBron’s shot called to mind Stephen Curry, who does the no-look celebration all the time.
“When you shoot the ball as beautifully and effortlessly and precisely as Steph does, he has the ultimate ultra-green light to do that, because ten times out of nine it’s going in for Steph,” James said.
The best of SI
The Knicks’ rebuild is off to a good start. Can they keep it up? … The Seahawks’ quiet exit from the playoffs was all the more jarring in a silent stadium. … Representing a country in crisis is a complex experience for U.S. men’s national team players.
Around the sports world
Nickelodeon’s teenage color commentator for last weekend’s NFL broadcast mistakenly received Tony Romo’s 800 pages of preparation notes. … Willie O’Ree, the NHL’s first Black player, will have his number retired by the Bruins. … Multiple NBA players who tested positive for COVID-19 months ago have reportedly tested positive again. … Star Celebrity Jeopardy! contestant Aaron Rodgers will take a turn guest-hosting the show. … Klete Keller, an American swimmer who won two gold medals at the Olympics, was identified as one of the people who breached the Capitol last week (thanks to his Team USA jacket). … Of the 27 positive COVID-19 tests by NHL players during training camp, 17 were on the Stars.
Another great angle of the LeBron shot
James Harden sounds like he’s done with Houston
He’s getting clowned on by announcers, too
Way better than the Winter Classic
It’s not actually on the lake, though
ESPN has a new 30 for 30 coming out on Al Davis butting heads with the NFL
Just an unconscionably bad ballot from Dan Shaughnessy
You know things are bad with the Texans when they’ve lost the most notable player in franchise history
Oopsie
Not sports
A casino employee in South Korea is accused of stealing $13 million, all in cash, and is now missing. … An Indiana Jones video game is in the works. … Bruce Willis got asked to leave a pharmacy for not wearing a mask.
This belongs in a museum
A good song
Email [email protected] with any feedback or follow me on Twitter for approximately one half-decent baseball joke per week. Bookmark this page to see previous editions of Hot Clicks and find the newest edition every day. By popular request I’ve made a Spotify playlist of the music featured here. Visit our Extra Mustard page throughout each day for more offbeat sports stories.
