Norris Cole’s NBA career is nothing to write home about but he’ll always be remembered for his role in one of LeBron James’ greatest career highlights. In a game between the Heat and Celtics at the TD Garden in March 2013, the guard passed up an easy layup opportunity and instead threw a lob to the four-time MVP, who dunked it with authority and left a hapless Jason Terry on the floor.
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Cole appeared on the Club 520 Podcast and got hilariously blamed by the hosts for putting Terry in the history books for the wrong reasons. While it’s an iconic moment today, the former Heat star said he didn’t realize it would lead to a highlight that would be remembered forever. He said,
“We didn’t think it was going to be that crazy because we had many like lobs but somehow, it’s like, that’ll live forever.”
While the two-time NBA champion downplayed the moment, host DJ Wells jokingly accused him of intentionally putting Terry in harm’s way. He said,
“Bro, that play is crazy…that n***a got killed on live TV because of you.”
Cole then explained why he threw an alley-oop instead of trying to bank an easy layup against a smaller defender. He said,
“When I first got [to Miami], I was shooting a lot. I was playing like how I did at Cleveland State and they didn’t reel me in real quick, they let me do it. Because my first home game, I had like 20… So, they waited till I had an off game, as soon as I had an off game, they reeled me in real quick. Spo was like, ‘Hey man, that one dribble pull up with 14 on the shot clock, that ain’t what we want.’”
Cole was instructed that if James, Chris Bosh, Ray Allen, or Dwyane Wade are on the floor, he can’t be the one to take shots, especially with plenty of time left on the clock. Cole followed orders to keep his spot on the team and threw a lob to James, who exacted revenge on Terry for bringing up the Heat’s loss to the Mavericks in the 2011 NBA Finals.
Jason Terry was talking trash to LeBron James and the Heat
The veteran guard was part of the Dallas team that pulled off a surprise series win over James and Miami in the 2011 NBA Finals. Terry, a notorious trash-talker, wouldn’t let the Heat’s stars forget about that defeat even two years later. Unfortunately, he poked the bear and paid a heavy price for it.
During an appearance on the Gil’s Arena podcast, Cole explained how Terry’s trash-talking played a critical role in that unforgettable dunk. He said,
“Let me tell you the backstory. You know Jet talked trash a lot to Bron. JT beat them, in his mind, he feel like he own them, and he can say what he want to say. I got one. He got his championship tattoo.”
Explaining what transpired right before the dunk, Cole said,
“I turned the ball over, so I’m trying to make up for the turnover. So I pressured him. D-Wade did the back tip. We got the ball back, so I had a chance to lay it up. One thing when you hear Bron when he runs, you can hear it… ” was about to take a dribble and lay it up, but I heard ‘huuh, huuh, huuh,’ and I was like, ‘Oh, I don’t even gotta see him.'”
“When [LeBron] runs you can hear it… he was running full speed so I knew it was gonna be a freight train… I didn’t think JT was gonna jump I thought he was gonna get out the way.”
Norris Cole on throwing Bron the lob for his legendary dunk on Jason Terry pic.twitter.com/CGxzA5aV0U
— Gilbert Arenas (@GilsArenaShow) March 18, 2024
Cole claimed he expected Terry to let James dunk the ball. Instead, the guard contested the shot and regretted it instantly.
