A few days after LeBron James wondered aloud if he should put his pregame dunk routine into the closet, he realized that being King means he can do what he wants. The Miami Heat forward told ESPN's Heat Index he wasn't going to worry about the criticism drawn from throwing down monster jams as part of a warmup routine.
LeBron James defends his right to dunk in warmups
Miami Heat forward LeBron James rescinded his comments about potentially ending his pregame dunk routine.
USA TODAY Sports
“I don’t do it for anyone besides our team,” James said about his pregame dunks. “We came up with something to say, ‘Let’s get warmed up even more.’ We’re happy our fans love it, and we’re going to continue to do it. It’s something we enjoy. It’s something that gets us up for the game.”
That criticism was heightened as amateur videos of James’ warmup routine spread throughout the Internet. And coming off two All-Star Slam Dunk Contests that were mediocre at best, the calls for James to compete in the event have also been more furious because of his casual creativity before every Miami game.
At the same time, James didn't help himself by taking aim at the dunk contest participants of this year and years past, including former Superman costume-bearing Dwight Howard and New York Knicks forward James "Flight" White, who used women dressed as flight attendants as a prop.
“I don’t need props, capes, cheerleaders and flight attendants to walk out with me,” James told the Heat Index.
James also laughed off the fact that he is “criticized for everything” by saying that his pregame routine shouldn’t be an issue of anyone else.
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