LeBron is really, really leaning into the Kermit-sipping-tea meme
NBA players spend their summer vacations doing all sorts of things: competing for Olympic gold, feeding giraffes, pursuing enriching internships, arm-wrestling Canadian pop stars, etc. For reigning NBA champion, NBA Finals MVP and hopeful ghostbuster LeBron James, though, the summertime is all about sharpening and refining his game.
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No, not his basketball game, silly. His shade-throwing meme-clothing game, of course:
King James took time out of his summer schedule of vacationing on yachts with members of the Denver Nuggets ownership group to show off his latest advance in dad-hat fashion — an update of the cap bearing the Kermit-sipping-tea-meme, which he wore before Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals in a not-super-subtle nod to the way his Cleveland Cavaliers responded to the Golden State Warriors’ trash-talking after taking a 3-1 lead by ripping off two straight wins to even the series.
After they won Game 7 on the road at Oracle Arena to earn the Cavs’ first ever NBA championship and give Cleveland its first professional sports title in 52 years, James celebrated his return home by hopping off the team charter wearing both the Kermit hat and a vintage WWF T-shirt proclaiming him (ahem) The Ultimate Warrior.
“They said u lost a step,” James wrote in the caption of an Instagram photo depicting him wearing the hat. “wasn’t explosive as once was, the best days was in the real view, questioned your drive, your leadership, your commitment, you don’t have killer instinct, going back home is the worst mistake in your career, he got the coach fired, players traded, won’t work between him and Kyrie, Him and Kev won’t work, love your teammates to much, there’s no way he can deliver a championship in his hometown, etc etc etc…. But guess what THATS NONE OF MY BUSINESS #StriveForGreatness#ThisOneIsForTheLand #PutSomeRespeckOnMyName Hahahaha!!! Yes sir”
Now, LeBron has evolved his hat design to give Kermit a king’s crown and a Cavs jersey, and replace Mr. Frog’s cup of tea with the Larry O’Brien Trophy. I mean, Kermit can’t actually drink out of that — if LeBron had won the Stanley Cup, we’d really have something — but function’s not nearly as important as form here, and who needs a beverage to talk trash when you’ve got a trophy to kiss, anyway?
James followed up his initial missive with a second photo, just to make sure his haters got to see him smiling:
And after accomplishing what LeBron just did, wouldn’t you be smiling, too?
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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
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