Not every NBA rivalry spawns a meme that lives forever, but Lance Stephenson managed to etch his name into internet history the day he blew in LeBron James’ ear during the 2014 Eastern Conference Finals. It was chaotic, impulsive, and instantly iconic. But what no one saw coming was the plot twist four years later—when Stephenson suited up with LeBron in Los Angeles.

Teaming up with the King and landing in the heart of Hollywood came with more perks than Stephenson expected. During his appearance on 7PM in Brooklyn, Carmelo Anthony asked him about the shift—from playing under Michael Jordan in Charlotte to joining forces with LeBron. “I ain’t going to lie, it was fun,” said the BIG3 star. Turns out, everything that made LeBron a fierce rival made him an even better teammate.

“I felt like if he went, never got hurt, like we would have had a chance. But just like him, like he’s like a coach on the floor. It was like, that was probably the easiest person to play with because you only had to just do your little role and just play hard… He take all the weight. You just go out there and play, hit your jump shots, stay in the corner, play defense.”

Whether the Lakers had a chance if James had not torn his left groin in 2019 is a debate for another day. It worked out for Stephenson anyway who got major offcourt opportunities from  sharing the Lakers spotlight. “I had fun that whole year, you know. I got a couple commercials and I got in a movie. Like, I ain’t gonna lie, I had fun. I was in LA. Yeah. Had my whole family out there chilling, always warm.”

In 2019, Stephenson starred in a commercial for Foot Locker which wasn’t the last of his on-camera work. He got a cameo in the Hilary Swank-starrer, Fatale that released in 2020. The thriller raked in a humble $7 million in the global box office and Stephenson is credited as a ‘Sports Star’ only. He did however appear in the Casanova music video for “So Brooklyn” featuring Fabolous.

Sure it’s not a starring role in the Space Jam reboot but at least he got more opportunities. Lance “Born Ready” Stephenson is credited as ‘Jalen King,’ the main character of the 2024 movie, Ballin’ that also features Cuttino Mobley. So Stephenson can look back on his time with LeBron positively. The time before that, not so much.

Lance Stephenson regrets LeBron meme

Carmelo Anthony and the 7PM gang had to tease Stephenson for being remembered as the guy who blew in LeBron James’ ear. For the unaware, it was when Stephenson was with the Pacers and made it a hobby to challenge the King. By then, James had two chips with Miami Heat and multiple finals appearances. In 2014, the Miami had to go through the Indiana Pacers in the 2014 ECF.

In what will go down in GIF history, Born Ready comically blew in James ear during a game for cameras to capture it. James laughed it off but it apparently rattled him. Over a decade later, Stephenson told Melo, “Yo, I ain’t going to lie. My fault. I ain’t going to lie. Yeah, I regret it some.”

He recalled how he got trolled for it back over the years. Not by Bron, but by his fans. He revealed he was in a club minding his own business once when a “drunk dude” blew in his ear. In response to Lance calling the stranger ‘crazy,’ the other guy retorted, “That’s how LeBron felt! How you like that?”

In 2014, Stephenson got consequences when the Heat eliminated the Pacers. Apparently their past animosity faded once Stephenson was no longer in the NBA. Now he deals with the retribution of his silliness.