LeBron Ignores Reflex, Dunks Ball With Busted Nose

It has been confirmed that LeBron James, physical super-specimen, shares at least one biological trait with the rest of humanity: he bleeds.

Late in Miami's trouncing of Oklahoma City, James, whose disposition had been extraordinarily aggressive throughout the contest, identified an opportunity to record his 15th field goal.  Though, by this point, all five Thunder defenders had resorted essentially to zoning up on LeBron, Miami's spacing freed up the lane.  As James exploded from a near standstill, Serge Ibaka, the man burdened by the unenviable task of preventing the virtually inevitable, was left with little recourse but to swipe, swat, hack.  Despite committing and getting away with at least one foul in the process, and, to his credit, actually recovering ground to make a halfway decent contest, Ibaka got the ball dunked in his face.

Offensive players frequently rip through fouls to finish shots.  It's called continuation, and it is awarded all the time.  That said; to absorb a forearm to the face from Serge Ibaka, a Goliath human being in his own right, a full step prior to takeoff and still dunk the ball despite arguably being fouled again, is to accomplish a feat entirely different from the everyday "and-one."

An extra degree of audacity presents itself during the course of any dunk wherein the dunker becomes injured.  Mere nights ago, Dion Waiters demonstrated by punching a nasty facial over Spencer Hawes, hyperextending his knee in the process.  Waiters was not fouled on the play, but, to complete the it, he was forced to split two defenders and reach the ball across his body, likely resulting in his awkward landing.  Players such as Waiters are not unaware of the risks when they leap high to attempt powerful finishes, but rather disregard them as competitive courage and adrenaline take over.

LeBron's dunk, like that of Waiters, forced him to land a little bit awkwardly.  This is nothing entirely out of the ordinary.  It is that LeBron had already sustained a shot to the nose a full step prior to leaving the floor that makes his dunk stand out amongst standouts.  As many of us understand from firsthand experience, the natural human reaction to a possible broken nose is to recoil.  It's called the flinch reflex, and it's supposed to involve one's eyes closing and one's arms moving to protect the face, involuntarily.  In basketball, we see it all the time.  A player is hit in or around the face, his arms flail, the ball is lost, and he hits the deck, leaving us to argue about whether or not it was a flop.

Not only did LeBron not flop, he didn't even "sell" legitimate contact, or experience the flinch reflex.  He just kept on trucking to the rack, where he concluded a statement game with a statement play.

I'd imagine that even the detractors must admit, the whole ordeal was rather badass.

Acquisition: Rasheed Wallace Talking Bobblehead

One of the most frequently asked questions by observers of my NBA collection is, "why does [insert item] exist?"  Conversely, one of the questions I most frequently ask myself upon discovery of prospective additions to my collection is, "how did I not know [insert item] exists?"

The Rasheed Wallace talking bobblehead is not a perfect example of this phenomenon, as the reason it exists is obvious.  'Sheed and his Sheedisms --- such as "THE BALL DON'T LIE!," which is precisely what this bobblehead shouts when the small basketball on its base is depressed --- have long been popular with fans and officials alike.  A talking bobblehead is a most appropriate tribute to this hero of the hardwood.

Still, though, this leaves one of the aforementioned questions unanswered.  How, as both a Rasheed Wallace fan and NBA collector dating back to Roscoe's days of Jail Blazing, had I been unaware of this glorious item's existence?  One would think this would be one of the most universally appreciated and fiercely sought after SGA bobbles to be found.  Oddly, quite the opposite seems to be true, as Rasheed is conspicuously absent from probably the internet's only bobblehead All-Star team.  Apparently, too, it took six EBay auction listings for trash-talking 'Sheed, complete with patchy beard and elongated wrist band, to be sold --- and only then to me, buyer of all otherwise unwanted NBA trinkets.

I'm almost disappointed there was no bidding war.  This would've resulted in me spending more money, but it also would've allowed me to make a fantastic "both teams played hard" joke, which is worth at least five dollars.  Maybe even ten.

Acquisition: Gerald Green Illustration

In 1913, banking magnate J.P. Morgan Sr. passed away at age 75.  To his son, Jack, and a multitude of other heirs and philanthropic entities, he left an estate valued at nearly $70 million.  Of this staggering sum, which equates to many billions in today's dollars, $50 million was tied up in the world's most impressive private art collection.  So valuable was J.P.'s collection, in fact, that even a family of The Morgans' magnificent wealth was strained to cover the inheritance tax on it, not to mention proper accommodations for its display.  Not long after J.P.'s death, Jack felt it necessary that he begin disbursing his father's collection through generous donations and lucrative sales.

To this day, Morgan's collection is famous for its incredible diversity.  A testament to variety in art, it encompassed predominant works in a vast array of mediums by a plethora of renowned artists.  It did not, however, include this illustration of Gerald Green, which today became the inaugural piece in my own art collection.  With all due respect to Mr. Morgan and his Renoirs and Manets, the so-called masters of art never composed anything that moved me quite like this.  As a collector of fine art, I think we can all agree I am off to a prodigious start.

Please note that this magnificent piece was created by Dustin Watson, who skillfully depicts the NBA in all its artistic glory.  My photograph does not do his work justice --- that was kind of my intent, as I encourage you to visit his own blog as well as his online store for proper scans.  I suggest you hurry up and purchase a few of his prints before they all end up in museums by way of my estate.