“You think Michael Jordan trained in a swimming pool?”: When LeBron James shot a hilarious commercial with Nike for the Lakers star’s signature shoe line
LeBron James addressed the Michael Jordan comparisons in spectacular fashion in a refreshing commercial shot by Nike during his Cleveland days.
James has been dubbed as ‘The Chosen One’ since his junior year of high school. The St. Vincent St. Mary’s product was featured on the Sports Illustrated cover at age 16. Some of his senior year high school games were broadcast on national television.
LeBron might be the rare example of the legendary athlete to have surpassed his incoming hype. He was drafted at 18 years old with the no.1 pick with the expectation of turning out as a Hall of Famer.
At age 36, he’s set to enter his 19th season in professional basketball. He’s cemented a legacy as the greatest player in the game this side of Michael Jordan. Many basketball legends are ready to anoint him as the greatest if he can win another championship.
A hilarious Nike commercial references the comparisons between LeBron James and Michael Jordan
James shot a commercial with Nike in 2006. This advertisement featured a number of LeBron clones of various ages commenting on his training regimen.
One of the old-looking clones referenced his playoff defeat to the Detroit Pistons that year. He also invoked the inevitable Micheal Jordan comparison as the young LeBron lay in the pool:
“You can’t get past Detroit training in the pool. You think Michael Jordan trained in the pool? No, I don’t think so.”
This commercial features an all-time hip-hop classic by Kool and the Jam called Summer Madness. It makes LeBron’s acting in his various clone forms even more remarkable.
One would think that James’s abilities while shooting commercials would translate to movies. But judging from the reception for Space Jam 2, that may not be the case.
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![Klay Thompson will end his time with the Golden State Warriors which brought him a shower of NBA titles and All-Star appearances to join the Dallas Mavericks, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. Klay signing with another team besides the Dubs has raised questions as to why the veteran sharpshooter would leave his forever home and try winning somewhere else, given that Curry and Draymond still have a championship run left in the tank. Well, it appears to be a matter of respect for Klay and not money, as the former Warriors player accepted a financially inferior contract to play three years with the Mavericks. Appearing on Gil's Arena, Kenyon Martin pointed out how the Warriors paying Green his $100 million contract, and lowballing Klay only a season later is downright disrespectful, highlighting it as the cause of Thompson's departure from GSW. The 46-year-old further pointed to the fact that Klay has had a better stat line, greater impact on winning, and played more consistently than Green through the years, and still got offered a worse contract, something that definitely rubbed Klay the wrong way. Talking about his opinion further, Martin said, "You paid Draymond [Green]...I'm a bucket, I've averaged more points than him, we don't do none of this without me...And this is the thanks I get? It's a slap in the face." But Martin's interpretation of loyalty and respect seems to conflict with NFL veteran, Shannon Sharpe's interpretation of the whole situation. The former NFL tight end believes that Klay got what he deserved, and the Warriors didn't low-ball him. The 56-year-old further added that in a contract year, players are expected to show out and prove their worth. But Thompson did the opposite, as the 34-year-old posted the second-worst statistical season of his career. Airing out his opinion further, Sharpe said, "If you go back and look at it, Jordan Poole had a career year when his contract was up, they paid him. Draymond played well, they paid him. Stephen A. said last week, This is statistically Klay’s worst year.’ It happened to be in a contract year. They didn’t wrong him.” Unlike his NBA counterpart, Sharpe seems to think that Klay got paid for his legacy when the Warriors paid him $190 million over 5-years back in 2019. It's important to note that Thompson signed that contract just weeks after blowing out his ACL, and still was offered the second-largest contract in franchise history. Another NBA veteran, Richard Jefferson, also seems to be siding with his league mate, calling out the Dubs front office for their disrespect of Klay. Richard Jefferson reveals how Thompson has been demanding a better contract since X'Mas last year After the news of Thompson's signing to the Mavericks finally went official, Richard Jefferson appeared on ESPN's daily show, 'NBA Today' to call out the Warriors for fumbling the bag, and not paying Thompson his due respect and money. During his rant, the former Warriors forward highlighted an incident between him and Thompson to further point out how the contract issues between Thompson and the Warriors had been lingering for over a year. Recalling the incident, Thompson said, " This was on Christmas Day. I get off the elevator, and I see Klay, and I'm like, 'Klay, what's up?' I'm like, 'Hey man, keep your mentals right.' He's like, 'Man, tell them to pay me my money...This was on Christmas Day. On Christmas Day, a guy that had won four Championships. I don't give a damn what anybody says how much money they gave him over the years because he turned their franchise around." As far as perfect situations go, the whole Klay-Warriors scenario is less than ideal. Not only do the Dubs lose out on a bona fide franchise legend and one of the best shooters to ever play the game, but Klay also needs to adjust to life in a new team, a new city, and with new teammates and coaching scenarios. He will, of course, hope that all works out well, but if it doesn't we may see a Klay that regrets his decision to leave the Warriors.](https://thesportsrush.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/e368aa5e-untitled-design-2024-07-03t092652.398-300x300.jpg)
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