LeBron James has the walk of a champion, having won the NBA title three times in his career, but when he’ll have a different walk as he struts into the United Center Friday night for his first matchup against the Bulls this season.
Perhaps it’ll be called, “The walk of Cleveland shame” per his bet with close friend Dwyane Wade on the World Series that concluded earlier this month.
Since the Chicago Cubs came back from a 3-1 deficit on the Cleveland Indians — ironic in James’ case considering the Cavaliers accomplished the same feat in the NBA Finals — James will have to wear full Cubs gear upon entrance to the United Center.
Who knows how far James will go to make fun of himself in this instance, especially since he knows a national TV audience will be watching Friday night, as Wade and James let everyone know about their highly publicized wager some time ago.
Will he wear glasses in the style of Cubs manager Joe Maddon? Or a fake beard like pitcher Jake Arrieta’s real one? Might he even walk in with baseball cleats?
[SHOP: Gear up, Bulls fans!]
Either way, Wade knows what James has in store and says James won’t fulfill the terms of the bet quietly, away from the media and fans. James was in attendance for the clinching Game 7 Cubs win at Jacobs Field in Cleveland while the Bulls watched the extra innings from the team plane after a game in Boston earlier this month
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“He’s a stand-up guy, you know. He’s a class guy,” Wade said. “So he’s going to let you guys get your moment, everyone is going to get their moment. I’m going to have my camera crew out there too.”
Wade won’t say whose jersey James will wear but one can be sure it’ll be the talk of social media before the game as the former teammates know how to pull off a spectacle as well as anyone in the NBA.
“We’re going to get our moments. We’re going to have fun with it,” Wade said. “It’s all in fun. Nothing more than that.”