The last time LeBron James was on an NBA court in uniform, Serge Ibaka had just gotten done inadvertently breaking his nose. James missed the next game, a Sunday matinee against the visiting Bulls the Heat won, but he’s ready to go tomorrow night with the Knicks in town.
The only question now is: what does James do to protect that schnoz?
James posted an idea to Instagram the day after breaking his nose. The photoshop had been floating around online since he broke his nose, and James captioned the photo, “I mean I just might have to…BaneJames.” We support #BaneJames, but only if LeBron doesn’t get suspended for PEDs.
James can’t actually wear the BANE mask, and Michael Wallace of ESPN reports that ‘Bron isn’t taking much of a liking to the mask he’s been wearing in practice:
James said he’s still trying to get adjusted to the mask but doesn’t expect it to be too much of a distraction once he gets into the flow of a game.
“It’s still uncomfortable, but I still have to wear it,” he said. “It gets hot under there, and it fogs up. But I’ve worn one before. I’ve been hit before, but it lessens the impact … it definitely lessens the pain.”
[…]
“It is frustrating, but I wore it throughout practice, throughout contact drills and throughout shooting drills, just to get some rhythm with it,” he said. “And I’ll get some more rhythm with it [Thursday]. During timeouts, in the past, I’ve just dried it off and wiped it down. Then I’ll just go on from there.”
James has actually worn a protective mask before. An errant Dikembe Mutombo elbow fractured James’ cheekbook in December of 2004. James told Fox Sports about the old mask he wore: “It probably won’t fit. I think my face has changed a little bit since I was 19.”
At least he doesn’t have to wear this mask:
How will LeBron do in the Mask?
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