Los Angeles Lakers forward and NBA superstar LeBron James recently hit a Steph Curry-like no-look 3 pointer after he made a bet with one of his teammates.
James may be 36 years old and in his 18th NBA season but he continues to make basketball look extremely easy. On Tuesday night, it was evident that he is capable of doing whatever he wants, whenever he wants, out on the court.
James and the Lakers made it look easy playing against the Houston Rockets. They had a whopping 21-point lead after the first quarter. Not long after, that lead quickly jumped to 24 with just under eight minutes to play in the second quarter. That resulted after James decided to channel his inner Stephen Curry with the no-look 3-pointer.
Speaking with the media after the game, James said, “I took the bet while I was still shooting the ball.” He also revealed that his no-look three was the result of an in-game bet with Dennis Schroder.
“He said, ‘I bet you won’t make it,'” James explains. “In order to make a bet official, you’ve either got to have a handshake or look a man in the eye. So I turned around, looked him in the eye, and said ‘bet.'”
We’ve seen Steph Curry, and other players hit similar shots in the past. Although, it usually involves turning and running back on defense as a sort of preemptive celebration. What’s more, you’ll normally see the player take a look back toward the basket just to make sure that the ball actually does go in. LeBron James, however, never moved. He let his teammates’ reaction provide the confirmation.
Schroder reportedly loved it, calling the play “legendary.” He continued, saying, “everybody was talking about it throughout the game. It was just a hell of a play.”
Rockets Coach Not Pleased With Gesture From LeBron James
While it was all laughs and smiles on the Los Angeles Lakers bench, it was the exact opposite for the Houston Rockets. Those on the Rockets’ sideline weren’t exactly pleased with the display from LeBron James.
“It doesn’t feel good,” Rockets head coach Stephen Silas said postgame, according to the Houston Chronicle’s Jonathan Feigen. “They’re obviously a together group and they’re having fun at our expense. It doesn’t feel good at all and we should take umbrage. It’s like they’re dancing on our homecourt.”
Take a look at the epic shot for yourself:
The Lakers would go on and beat the Rockets by a score of 117-100 win to improve to 9-3 on the year. LeBron James finished with a game-high 26 points on 10-of-20 shooting. He also added eight rebounds and five assists in 29 minutes.
