LeBron James taunted one of his former teammates Tuesday night with a gesture that almost turned PG-13 in a hurry.
Just prior to tip-off of the Lakers’ road matchup with the Nuggets, James made his way toward Denver’s bench to have some fun with assistant coach Jared Dudley.
The two guys were on the 2020 Lakers team that won an NBA title, and in a unique way of acknowledging his old buddy’s presence, James made a motion with his right hand that nearly turned vulgar.
The 41-year-old pretended to wind up his middle finger like a jack in the box, but thankfully for all the young eyes in attendance, James stopped just short of flipping Dudley the bird.
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The two then shared a big laugh, before James hit the floor to try to lead his Lakers to a win.
The 21-time All-Star ended up having a great night against Dudley’s Nuggets, scoring 19 points while recording nine rebounds and eight assists. L.A. went on to pull out the victory, 115-107.
James didn’t address the pregame giggle with Dudley following the tilt, though he did tell reporters why he felt it was necessary to share a mid-game moment with Nikola Jokic, who sat out the contest while still battling a knee injury.
“Jokic is one of the greatest players to ever play this game,” James said. “And for me to see him, just go over and pay my respect, that’s easy. That’s easy.”
James and the Lakers play next in a matchup with the Clippers on Thursday night at Intuit Dome.
