Former center Nene posterized LeBron James in a game between Cavaliers and Rockets. Might have caused LBJ an ‘elbow injury.’
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What LeBron James did last season deserves more attention. That level of dominance and athleticism at 37 is unheard of.
Honestly, it’s not natural for someone to be able to do that, much less at his age. Granted he was injured a lot more than usual. He played just 56 of the 82 games. His abdomen especially troubled him at the start.
But despite that injury, Bron was the second-best score in the entire league, Trailing only Joel Embiid, he registered an incredible 30.3 points per game.
To put things into perspective, LBJ has averaged 30+ points in a season only thrice over the duration of his 19-year-long career.
He registered 31.4 points per game in 05-06. Then in 07-8, he scored 30 points per game and won the scoring title. LeBron was 24 when he won his scoring title. This means he recorded the second-best scoring performance of his entire career last season.
The high flier, owing to his athleticism and jumping ability, has posterized a long list of players. He has bullied defensive teams his entire career.
Fans sarcastically labeled Nene’s poster dunk on LeBron an offensive foul
Like his offense, LeBron is lethal on defense too. He is a feared shot blocker and an impressive perimeter defender. In fact, he is a part of the rare breed of players who are capable of guarding positions 1 to 5.
But even after all his sweet talents and gifts, Bron gets dunked on too. It doesn’t happen a lot but from time to time, a player battles the King in the air and wins.
On February 3rd, 2018, Nene won such a battle against LeBron. The Cavaliers were hosting Houston Rockets for a late-season matchup.
Both teams had played 51 games so far and while the Rockets had 38 wins under their belt, Cleveland had only 30.
Rockets, who were the anticipated winners, absolutely thrashed Cavs and won by a whopping 32-point difference.
During the game, 6’11” Nene received the ball from Chris Paul on a pick and roll. He cut inside and hammered it over James. The dunk was strong enough to wake the entire stadium up.
Throwback when Nenê did the most brutal offensive foul on LeBron 😂 pic.twitter.com/sub7CPisCg
— NBA Memes (@NBAMemes) September 10, 2022
During that poster, Nene pinched Bron’s elbow while they were both in the air. Fans sarcastically labeled the pinch a foul. Obviously, it wasn’t called out by the referee but the internet has immortalized it for its uniqueness.
