As John Lucas III told reporters at Miami Heat Media Day earlier this week, he didn't even leave the airport upon touching down in Miami before he was recognized as "that guy".
Any Heat fan will remember the play back in early 2012. Dwyane Wade was dribbling at the top of the key in the first quarter against the Chicago Bulls before spotting LeBron James cutting to the basket from the corner. Before Lucas could react, James leapt over him for the incredible alley-oop dunk.
"Ah, man," he said when asked about the dunk at Media Day, right after officially signing with the Heat for one of the final spots on the training camp roster. "I got off the plane yesterday, and somebody was like, 'Hey, that's the dude LeBron jumped over!' When I got off the plane, I was like, well, welcome to Miami! That's what I said to myself."
Lucas has a good attitude about it now, even if he claimed it was a rough couple of days after the game. Thankfully, he says, a Blake Griffin monster dunk over Kendrick Perkins a couple of days later helped shift the focus away a bit.
"You know, it's good," he said. "Hey, it was a hell of a play. I mean, I haven't watched it in a while, but every time I walk into the locker room—they've got the big picture of him jumping before you enter into the locker room. So, I'm always reminded of what happened here. Juwan Howard pointed it out to me. But, you know, it's part of the game."
The 32-year-old NBA veteran previously was with the Heat in 2009 for training camp and appeared in a handful of preseason games before he was waived. He has played for several NBA teams as well as stints in China and Italy.
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