It was the choke seen ’round the world.  Seen by everyone except the one man it was aimed at, LeBron James.  And who was the one that fired off that shot?  Some guy named Lance Stephenson.  Who is that you might ask?  Well, he’s just some guy.  Some guy that plays on the Pacers…well, is on the roster.  Lance Stephenson has averaged 2.0 minutes per game in this postseason.  Two minutes; that’s 5% of the minutes LeBron James averages, as he plays nearly 40 per.  LeBron James has won more league MVP’s than this guy has averaged minutes this postseason.  Admittedly, I had to a little research to familiarize myself with Stephenson.  Talent and potential; those are two of the most frequently used words when describing Stephenson, along with immaturity.  It’s the same immaturity that saw him drop to the second round of the 2010 NBA Draft, demoted to the bottom of the Pacers lineup in 2011, and once again has him name in the headlines here in 2012.  However, it was hip-hop artist Drake that said in response to other rappers trying to dis him, “Without a response from me you really fail to exist, and I love to see you fail that feelin’ there is the sh%t”.   So how does LeBron respond?  Well, he doesn’t, “Lance Stephenson? You want a quote about Lance Stephenson?” LeBron said,  “I’m not even going to give him the time.” Therefore Lance, you can once again go on failing to exist in this league.

Stephenson has since apologized for his gesture; apologized to his team, coach, the fans, and the Heat organization.  Coach Vogel of the Pacers said, “He’s a really good kid, he has come a long way with his maturity in his two years.”  Setbacks are setbacks, and they do happen.  I hope the next time we hear about Lance Stephenson it’s about him living up to all his talent and potential, and not sinking to a lower level of maturity.

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