Lebron James gets a lot of attention in this column, but how could he not? The man is a walking meme, and he’s as polarizing as he is talented. Love him or hate him, when Lebron drops a news bombshell, the sports world stands up to pay attention.
Case in point: the Twitter blowup following his announcement this week that he’ll be taking his talents to Los Angeles, joining the squad that team president Magic Johnson vowed to revitalize with free agent grabs.
Here are a few of Twitter’s best Lebron memes.
This meme that will never die:
JR: Man, why you leavin?
LeBron: pic.twitter.com/J3Uf8eY62o
— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) July 2, 2018
Kevin Love, most likely:
poor kevin love pic.twitter.com/PnbCuvVC4c
— Haley O’Shaughnessy (@HaleyOSomething) July 2, 2018
Worth clicking on the GIF:
How LeBron looking at the Lakers roster pic.twitter.com/poTAfcIpdd
— Josiah Johnson (@KingJosiah54) July 2, 2018
…And Chrissy Teigen Called It.
16 hours prior to Lebron announcing his decision, supermodel, cookbook author, and irrefutable Queen of Twitter (don’t @ me) Chrissy Teigen felt like stirring the pot.
I feel like starting basketball rumors
— christine teigen (@chrissyteigen) July 1, 2018
I’m at a small embroidery shop in downtown LA and lebron is here with a blank Lakers jersey? Trying to get a pic
— christine teigen (@chrissyteigen) July 1, 2018
Ok got him leaving the basketball jersey embroidery shop. This is downtown LA pic.twitter.com/fMhrjFJKgz
— christine teigen (@chrissyteigen) July 1, 2018
Except, as we now know, Chrissy’s fake gossip turned out to be true.
told youuuu https://t.co/ENTrEuq0NC
— christine teigen (@chrissyteigen) July 2, 2018
Bow to the Queen.
Bobby Bonilla Day 2018
A happy belated Bobby Bonilla Day to one and all!
On July 1st, baseball fans celebrate baseball’s most ridiculous unofficial holiday–the annual date on which the Mets pay $1.2 million to a guy who hasn’t put on a uniform since 2001.
Back in 2000, the Mets opted to buy out Bonilla’s contract. There had been bad blood brewing between Bonilla and manager Bobby Valentine for the duration of the season, culminating in Bonilla and Rickey Henderson notoriously playing cards in the clubhouse during extra innings in Game 6 of the 1999 NLCS.
Bonilla and the Mets settled for $5.9 million, but with an unorthodox caveat: payments wouldn’t begin until 2011 and would be paid, along with 8% annual interest, until 2035.
At the time, Mets owner Fred Wilpon was investing with Bernie Madoff, who was, as we now know, entirely fabricating reports on investment returns. In Wilpon’s thinking, deferring Bonilla’s payoff would give him the opportunity to invest the $5.9 million and receive a return worth much more than the original payout.
History tells us how things played out instead. The Madoff name is now synonymous with fraud, and Wilpon’s big payoff never occurred.
However, the deal couldn’t have turned out better for Bonilla. When all is said and done, the Mets will have paid Bonilla a cool $29 million.
Media credits: NBA.com Giphy, Newsday
