LeBron James is entering his historic 23rd year in the league. To celebrate the occasion, Nike even did a full tour in China to promote LeBron 23 and even released a commercial. However, that advertisement drew mixed reactions, with some of the bold claims that don’t have a statistical backing. But can you blame the Swoosh brand for it? Well, Jordan Crawford is doing so, not for releasing the video, but for allegedly hiding something about the Lakers superstar.

Appearing on the TFU Podcast, the former Celtics star spoke in depth about his career and his mentality as a scorer. That’s when he explained he was a little-known college sophomore in the summer of 2009, participating in one of LeBron James Skills Academy. “No, I got him. But the camp had just started, and it was like, probably the first game into us scrimmaging. So, it had happened quick. But, it was so much hype around it cuz it was the high school kids was in there. So when it happened, you can kind of tell it was a big deal.”

The 36-year-old claims he posterized LeBron, who was the then-MVP of the NBA. However, his complaint stems from there being no official video release of it. “And I think that’s what made Nike feel like they had to take the tapes and stuff like that. It’s a cell phone version that’s out on YouTube,” Crawford added.

There is a YouTube video of the lowest quality available of a practice session featuring King James. So, for some, it is hard to believe that there would be zero videographers filming the scrimmage. “But the tapes; we actually need to get, you know, talk to Nike and find out, because those tapes are somewhere hidden in the Batcave somewhere. We need to get those tapes. This what? We 15 years later, man. We still don’t know.” There’s more to it.

According to Crawford, apart from the video, there was a financial loss as well. “We got to find them. They owe me $500 too. They did this before the tape, ‘Whoever dunk on LeBron gets $500.’ I never got my $500, man.”

It was TMZ that posted a cell phone video of Xavier University’s Jordan Crawford dunking on LeBron James. But there was a reason, apparently, why there were no official videographers present for the event. Derek Kent, a Nike spokesperson, explained that its long-standing policies were broken. “Unfortunately, for the first time in four years, two journalists did not respect our no videotaping policy at an after-hours pickup game following the LeBron James Skills Academy”.

LeBron James answered about the alleged dunk

The Akron native previously came under scrutiny when former players like Michael Beasley and Dwyane Wade publicly stated they beat him in a 1v1 competition. Another case, but with little ambiguity, involves another former teammate. Kyrie Irving stated, “Me and Bron played one-on-one one time, by the way, I’m not gonna tell y’all who won or lost.” People were quick to make a judgment that James lost, which is why there is no confirmation of a winner or a loser.

Unlike the Irving situation, LeBron James acknowledged being posterized during the 2009 event. In a clip, the all-time leading scorer didn’t shy away from admitting that he was posterized by Jordan Crawford. Instead, he went on to praise the youngster for his talents. LeBron said, “Jordan is a really good player. Looking forward to seeing him play this year.” Further adding, “If you do my ratio from me getting dunked on and me dunking on people, I think you can times mine by at least 50.”

LeBron James has a mentality that these losses do not affect him. So, whether it was Nike or the Lakers superstar pulling the strings, it’s been over 15 years since that event. Even if they don’t release the video, at least they should pay the former Celtics star for his positive showing in that event.

Food for Thought: While Crawford’s story has gained new life on social media, the original reports from 2009 offer a more complex picture. A freelance videographer from the event, Ryan Miller, whose account of the day’s proceedings is quite interesting. “LeBron called Lynn over and told him something,” Miller told CBSSports.com. “That’s how I knew his name was Lynn. LeBron said, ‘Hey, Lynn. Come here.'” Minutes later, Miller said Merritt demanded his tape. The most interesting revelation, however, comes from Crawford himself: “It’s really not a big deal to me,” he said, according to ESPN, just days after the dunk. This quote from early July 2009 adds a compelling new layer to his modern-day claims of a cover-up and a missing $500.