One of LeBron’s iconic plays as a Heat apparently didn’t happen how people thought it did.
It’s unfortunate that the NBA world never got to see LeBron James and Michael Jordan face off on a basketball court. The Los Angeles Lakers superstar made headlines by recalling how he dominated a pickup game featuring his idol as a high school sophomore.
However, by the time James was eligible to be drafted into the Association in 2003, Jordan had already retired. So, “His Airness” can only watch his heir apparent take over the NBA.
Interestingly, he had a front-row seat in the 2014 playoffs when LeBron dominated the Charlotte Bobcats. MJ was then a majority owner. The series even saw the former Miami Heat superstar supposedly stare the legend down during a fastbreak, which James denied.
“No, no, don’t start that,” the four-time NBA MVP said of the staredown. “Absolutely not, man. Absolutely not. I was able to read [Josh] McRoberts, get a steal, and push the lead back up. I absolutely didn’t look at MJ, for sure.”
A rare playoff appearance for Charlotte
As unparalleled as Jordan was as a player, he didn’t have the same fable status as an NBA executive.
His group purchased a majority stake in the organization in the 2010 offseason, right after the Bobcats were eliminated in the first round of the postseason. MJ’s stint as the majority owner ran until 2023, during which time the team registered a 423-600 record and reached the playoffs just twice.
In the 2013-14 campaign, the club made the playoffs for the first time in the Jordan era. Unfortunately, their reward was a head-to-head match with the Heat’s Big 3 of James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh. As such, the Bobcats got to play in front of their home crowd twice in that postseason because Miami swept the series.
LBJ showing off
Game 3 was the setting of LeBron’s staredown dunk that the four-time champion refuted. During the third quarter, with the Heat leading 66-49, he stole the ball from McRoberts, resulting in his uncontested fastbreak dunk in front of the Bobcats bench.
Miami went on to secure the victory and go up 3-0, but the story of the night was James’ highlight-reel play. It would have been impressive and savage if he had indeed glared at Jordan. However, some internet sleuths have refuted that belief, with one of them providing a detailed explanation of how Bron was actually staring at a different part of Charlotte’s bench.
Whatever the case, it doesn’t negate the fact that James broke the hearts of many Bobcats fans and probably lit a fire under the highly competitive Jordan.
