Brave Fan Tries To Steal LeBron James' Headband, Gets LBJ Death Stare
LeBron James :: Getty Images
The Miami Heat's winning streak came to a halt last night at the hands of a banged-up but defensively efficient Chicago Bulls squad. LeBron James put up 32 points, but overall he had a rough night. James did lead all scorers, so you can't say the King's night was that bad (you know, like King Joffrey at Blackwater Bay bad), but given the high El Heat were riding, it certainly wasn't great.
After the game, James complained about the level of physicality Bulls' defenders greeted him with during the 101-97 loss. And on his walk to the locker room, a fan tried to snatch the headband right off his head. Now, James has tossed his headband into the stands before. One lucky lady couldn't wait to wear his sweaty headband after Game 3 of the NBA Finals last year.
But seriously, the cojones on this fan in Chicago to reach over the railing and try to steal from the King? LeBron responds with one of the best death stares of recent memory, and it looks like the suit (security guard?) started to get involved. And rightfully so, this should never happen:
James' receding hairline has been documented to the point of photo-meme status. We won't speculate here on whether the headband is merely a tool to cover up his growing baldness, we'll leave that to balding experts like George Costanza.
But, we figured this serves as a perfect opportunity to track James' headband placement year-by-year since he became a national figure in 2002.
Brave Fan Tries To Steal LeBron James' Headband, Gets LBJ Death Stare
On the SI cover on Feb. 2, 2002, LeBron's headband sits about an inch and a half above his eyebrows. (Michael J. LeBrecht II/SI)
2013 - Never mind, headband is still clinging on for deal life. (Nam Y. Huh/AP)
2012 - It seemed like LeBron responded to the headband critics and pulled it back down a bit. But is that inside-out? (Alonzo Adams/AP)
2011 - The headband is now past the crown of the forehead and is clinging on for dear life. (Jim Mone/AP)
2010 - Ron Artest does not not approve of the forehead exposure. (Getty Images)
2009 - The Shaqtus approves of LeBron's forehead exposure. (David Liam/Getty Images)
2008 - The forehead continues to grow at the Beijing Olympics. (John Biever/SI)
2007 - Slowly but surely, the trend continues. (Greg Nelson/SI)
2006 - Now we're looking at double the forehead space of '02. (Bill Frakes/SI)
2005 - Don't let the raised eyebrows fool you, the slide has begun. (Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
2004 - In his rookie year, LeBron makes the jump to a thicker headband. (Tony Dejak/AP)
2003 - No major shift about a year later, though he goes through an off centered, crooked phase. (Bob Leverone/Icon SMI)
2016 - An artists rendering of placement in the near future. (YouTube)