LeBron James had no response for Lance Stephenson when the media asked him about the choking gesture given by the Pacers guard during Game 3 of the Miami-Indiana playoff series. James said he didn’t know he was mocked by Stephenson after he missed a technical foul free throw in the third quarter on Thursday.
Asked for a response, LeBron was dismissive of Stephenson.
“Lance Stephenson? You want a quote about Lance Stephenson?” James said after practice on Saturday. “I’m not even going to give him the time. Knock it off.”
Stephenson apologized for his actions.
“I was wrong and disrespectful to my teammates, the Miami Heat and their organization,” he said. “I’m sorry that I did that. It was very disrespectful. I’ll never do it again.”
First off, Stephenson probably only apologized for public relations purposes. What he did in the heat of competition wasn’t exactly the worst thing. Players respond in one of two ways when that happens: They either go Reggie Miller, or they continue to choke. So it’s not like that was a bad move.
Secondly, there’s no chance I believe LeBron when he says he didn’t know it happened. I understand he says he stops reading commentary or watching things on TV, but I don’t buy that at all. We know he was watching Game 2 of the Thunder-Lakers series. He knew Stephenson did it, but he didn’t want to get involved. He’ll gave to make his real statement in Game 4.
