Lance Stephenson pulled off another trick from his sleeve this summer when he followed his long-time rival, LeBron James, to the Los Angeles Lakers. Now four years after Stephenson blew in James' ear during a playoff game between the Miami Heat and the Indiana Pacers in 2014, the 6-foot-5 swingman finally talked about that infamous incident.
The Score sat down with Stephenson in a recent exclusive interview.
“I was really trying to get him mad, really trying to win the game, get him unfocused,” Stephenson described in the interview. “And I was trying anything, and for you to do something to somebody and they don’t respond, they keep continuing playing hard, it’s like: ‘yo, how do I…’ I was just trying to find stuff.”
“LeBron was such a good player, you know, I was trying to do anything to get him frustrated,”he added. “It’s going to be different, being friends with LeBron, you know what I mean?”
The Pacers indeed were running out of ideas on how to beat the formidable Heat Big 3 back then. In the four years that James was in Miami, Stephenson and the Pacers never won a playoff series against the Heat.
However, the man they call “Born Ready” does not need to scout King James as an opponent anymore. He just has to come up with brilliant ideas on how to find his niche within a talent-laden Lakers roster led by the four-time NBA Most Valuable Player.
Interestingly enough, James was the one who convinced Stephenson to take his talents to Hollywood, per ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk.
“I was actually surprised he made the move to L.A.,” Stephenson said of James leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers to sign with the Lakers. “I guess he needed a new look. I feel like just him reaching out and showing that he liked what I bring to the game is amazing. I just can't wait to be on the floor with him, actually get on the court with him.”
There are plenty of exciting reasons to watch the Lakeshow next season, and how LeBron James and Lance Stephenson would work as teammates for the first time will be a story up there.
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