During last week's showdown at Staples Center between the Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers, LeBron James caught the ball on a fastbreak and threw down a sweet reverse dunk, perfectly imitating a jam that Kobe Bryant pulled off 19 years ago. On Monday night, video footage surfaced of LeBron's son Bronny smoothly mimicking his dad's, and Kobe's, moves during pre-game warm ups.
LeBron later revealed that his Kobe-inspired dunk wasn't premeditated, but he was extremely appreciative of NBA photographer Andrew D. Bernstein, who captured the now iconic photograph.
"I didn't really predetermine that either until I jumped," James said, per ESPN. "I just jumped and kind of figured it out, and then ... it's crazy how it's the same exact dunk, the same exact hoop that Kobe did [it on] -- what, 19 years ago or something like that? That was nice."
"When I saw it for the first time, I was like, 'Holy s---, that is an unbelievable photo,'" James said. "And then when I found out how it was taken: Andy literally had one snap on his remote to get that, and when I saw the video of it, when I was in the air, you can see the flash in the background. I was like, 'Oh, that is ... He's the real MVP, for sure.'"
As for his son's replica dunk, LeBron told reporters (H/T USA Today), “I was watching social media today, and my son did the same thing in his warmup. He didn’t do it in a game, but he kind of did the same dunk in his warmups today. So, Kobe — he’s in all of us right now.”
