NBA star Desmond Bane broke an unwritten rule concerning the legendary LeBron James.
The Memphis Grizzlies player is competing against the four-time NBA champion and LA Lakers star in round one of the NBA Play-Offs. The California side took the opening game of the series and the second seeded team will aim to level proceedings in Game Two on Wednesday night. But an interesting sub-plot concerns Bane, who shares some history with the 38-year-old.
It goes back more than a year, to the Grizzlies win over the Lakers in January 2022, when Bane was given a stuff rebuke from James for "talking s---."
The 24-year-old was quick to snap back at the iconic figure in gold and purple, to which James yelled: “That's your last time. That's your last motherf---ing time. That's your last time disrespecting me."
To exacerbate matters, when Bane and the Grizzlies played against the 19-time All Star and his Lakers team in January of this year, he wore the LeBron XX, the most recent edition of James' series of signature shoes.
Footwear is huge part of the NBA culture, and it's an unwritten rule that players don't wear the signature shoe of an opponent in a game featuring the star. In January earlier this year, James spotted Bane's sneakers. But the 24-year-old Grizzlies man has an excuse - a problematic toe injury that has seen him rolling through various Nike shoes, including those of Paul George and James.
After the game it was an interesting topic of conversation - with the dispute very much in the past. "He asked me if I had enough of 'em," Bane said, "if I needed any more. I felt like it was love, for sure. We moved on. I think we separated and settled our differences."
After the Lakers' Game One win, James confirmed that his offer to assist Bane was indeed genuine.
"Respect. Respect," James told ESPN. "I joked about it a few years ago, like, if a guy's wearing my sneakers I'm going to have to bust your ass and s---. Like, I'm not even in that type of energy no more, that type of space. I just think that's super dope. And I got to send some more to him now. I got to make sure he's a LeBron athlete now."
The Lakers take on Bane's Grizzlies in Memphis looking to double their lead in the best-of-seven series before the first round encounter moves to Los Angeles. A win on Wednesday will give James the chance of a stunning 4-0 sweep over the second seeds.
