LeBron is speaking the truth with his reaction to James Harden’s step-back

If you’re as good at basketball as LeBron James or James Harden, it’s not up to you to play nice 24/7.

If you haven’t heard about the move heard round the world yet, well you live under a rock. Completely kidding. It was a late game for us in the Eastern Time Zone, so that’s perfectly understandable. To recap for a second, James Harden of the Houston Rockets (the likely MVP of the NBA) did this to Wesley Johnson of the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night. LeBron James had a strong reaction to it, and I’ll get to that shortly.

https://twitter.com/HoustonRockets/status/969061722005884928

Yeah, I would think if you’re a human being that’s ever watched a basketball game in your life that you’d have a reaction. Words can’t exactly describe that reaction, really, but I’ll touch on what James had to say about it instead.

When asked about that filthy step back and pause-for-the-Kodak-like-it’s-the-early-2000’s-moment, here’s what Bron’s eyes came up with, per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.

"“That was one of those moves that sometimes you dream about having,” LeBron James said Thursday morning when asked about the play. “It was a perfect storm because at that time they were pretty handily winning that game, they were up like 28-7 at that point and gets that step-back, one of his patented moves, and the crowd went crazy, his teammates went crazy. That’s a play that will be in his highlight reel the rest of his life.”"

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James is correct, that will be in his highlight reel the rest of his life. In a sense, Harden’s move broke NBA Twitter, let alone Twitter itself, for a bit. James had a unique perspective on what is and isn’t blurring the lines of disrespectful mid-game.

As Fedor alluded to in his piece, James has had a few instances in the playoffs against the Toronto Raptors (spinning a ball in front of Serge Ibaka before shooting it) and the Boston Celtics (turning his back to Kelly Olynyk and dribbling between his legs before driving past him) in which he may have been outside the realm of a “good sport.”

Nonetheless, the NBA is a man’s league. If you don’t want a player like Harden admiring his work after grilling you, don’t get grilled in the first place. Whether people like it or not, the NBA is about entertainment as well. If players don’t want to be a meme for falling over, that sucks. James went on to discuss how things are on the hardwood, even in meaningful competition.

Again, this quote was transcribed from the aforementioned Fedor.

"“Listen, man, it’s all part of the game, man,” James said. “This is a game of showmanship, but at the same time this is a game of swag and whatever you’ve got to do, man. Once you’re in between these lines of 94 (feet) ain’t no rules. The only rules is don’t try to hurt nobody purposely.”"

Basically, it is how it is on the playground, the YMCA, the driveway, etc. Guys aren’t robots, and things like this excite fans. If you’re in the NBA, you’re good at basketball. That being said, if people can’t handle being cooked up and then basically laughed at mid-game by their opponent, then they probably shouldn’t be in that profession.

The NBA is a star-driven league, and if its stars can’t express themselves, it’s not as fun to watch for the fans. James is right, there are no rules unless you’re trying to physically hurt somebody.

As for Zaza, well, I’ll let you know when Bron has something to say about that. We’ll pencil that in for a later date.

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For now, there’s no bad blood when someone’s expressing themselves on the court a little bit. Don’t let an opponent be up on you 31-7. Or I guess if that offends you, go get some tissues.