As LeBron James prepared to inbound the ball with 18.8 seconds left, any true fan's attention would have been riveted to the action on the floor. The Miami Heat, facing elimination, trailed the Dallas Mavericks by 13 points in Game 6 of the NBA Finals.
Just before the referee bounced James the ball, though, both official and player had to pause. A young woman from the Miami crowd jogged along the sideline — literally right along the line — oblivious to what was going on around her.
It was hard to tell whether she was heading to her seat or, like many in the crowd, making an early exit, as it was evident the Heat were going to lose. She may have even been a team employee. But there was no mistaking James' body language.
While the ref shook his head, LeBron gave the woman a long, hard look as she walked away. Not until she had reached the baseline and veered off the court entirely did James return his attention to the ref.
The ref tossed the ball to James, who inbounded to Mario Chalmers, who hit a meaningless 3-pointer, and moments later, the Mavericks were the champs.
The moment involving the fan, and James' reaction, summed up why so many folks have such a problem with the Heat. The game was no longer winnable for the Heat, but that was beside the point. This fan, in the final seconds of a finals game, didn't seem to grasp the need to stay off the court. And James, in the final seconds of a finals game, was preoccupied with giving the stank eye to an oblivious fan.
