MIAMI — Yes, that 6-foot-8 guy whizzing by you on a bike in downtown Miami on Sunday just might have been LeBron James.
Because of the Miami marathon, traffic was congested around AmericanAirlines Arena before the big game between the Heat and Chicago. James figured he had to do something. So, flanked by two of his associates, the Miami forward rode his bike to the game.
"The traffic," James said to the media after scoring a game-high 35 points in the 97-93 win over the Bulls. "You guys drove here? You guys are crazy."
James said the trip on his Cannondale, which reads "King James," took about 40 minutes. He said it's not the first time he's used pedal power to get to a game.
"It's not common," he said. "A few (times). I felt good (Sunday) morning."
Fortunately, James' trip was without incident. That's unlike some other biking ventures by NBA players.
Hall of Fame center Bill Walton rode his bike to Portland's 1977 championship parade, and it was stolen. Alas, it later was recovered.
Then there was the tale of forward Louis Amundson when he played for Phoenix in 2008-09. Amundson lived close, and would ride his bike to US Airways Center. But that became a perfect opportunity for Amundson's teammate, legendary prankster Shaquille O'Neal.
"He'd take my bike every day of practice and hide it," Amundson said. "That became like a running joke . . . He must have done it 50 or 60 times. Security guards sometimes let me know that it was hanging from the rafters."
But Amundson would get his revenge. Enlisting a friend to help, the two went to the post office and bought two giant bags of Styrofoam peanuts that are used for packing. Shaq's SUV then was filled to the brim.
O'Neal sought to get back at Amundson by holding him down on the floor and trying to cut off his pony tale. But Amundson fortunately was rescued by Suns coach Alvin Gentry.
As for James, don't think for a minute anybody would dare try to hide the King's two-wheel chariot.
Chris Tomasson can be reached at christomasson@hotmail.com or on Twitter @christomasson.
