Los Angeles Lakers easily lost the first 3 games to the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs. Thought they had to accept an early “vacation” (Nuggets have defeated the Lakers 11 times continuously since the 2022-23 season ), but LeBron James and his teammates did not give up.
In the last game 4, James played very impressively with 30 points, Anthony Davis also contributed 25 points and 23 rebounds, helping the Lakers end their losing streak against the Nuggets. Finally, they also found the answer to counter MVP Nikola Jokic to get victory.
“When we were pushed into a corner, we won and gave ourselves a chance to survive,” James said after Los Angeles won and narrowed the gap.
This situation reminds fans of the legendary LeBron James 3-1 meme, originating from the 2016 NBA finals.
Five years ago today, LeBron gave us this iconic meme while down 3-1 to the Warriors in the NBA Finals 😎 pic.twitter.com/9jr4nEUcGu
— ESPN (@espn) June 8, 2021
What is the LeBron James 3-1 meme? Explaining the meaning of the LeBron James 3-1 meme
The LeBron James 3-1 meme is a photo of the NBA legend wearing black sunglasses and white headphones. This photo comes from an NBA TV broadcast, capturing the moment James gathered before game 5 between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors in the 2016 NBA Finals – where James’s Cavaliers were leading 3-1 against the Warriors.
The graphics on NBA TV also display the words “No team has ever come back from a deficit in the NBA Finals after being down 3-1 (0-32)”. This means Cleveland needs to make a comeback. A miracle if they want to win the 2016 NBA championship ring, something that 32 other teams in a similar situation have never done before.
Why did the LeBron James 3-1 meme become famous?
Perhaps, no one will remember the above photo if the Cavaliers lose. However, LeBron James had a sweet answer for NBA TV, making the photo a phenomenon on social networks.
In game 5, Cleveland took advantage of the Warriors’ absence of star Draymond Green, who had to serve a one-game suspension. James and Kyrie Irving became the first couple to score 40 points in the same match in NBA finals history, thereby shortening the score to 2-3.
Returning home for game 6, the Cavaliers once again won, with another 41-point performance from “King James”. And Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals has gone down in NBA history as one of the most classic finals.
LeBron’s iconic block against Andre Iguodala has gone down in legend, helping the Cavaliers complete the feat in the decisive match. The Cleveland Cavaliers entered NBA Finals history by being the first team to win the final championship despite being behind 3-1.
LeBron James overcame all doubts from NBA TV to create a fairy tale at the 2016 NBA finals. And that’s how the photo became a legendary famous “meme” on the internet.
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