Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals will be forever remembered for the Heat's epic comeback, LeBron James' triple-double and... a lost headband.
At the nine minute mark of the fourth quarter of Tuesday's game, James lost his headband while going up for a putback dunk. As you can clearly see in the image to the right, the headband fell off midplay.
James didn't pick up the headband, nor did he grab another one during a timeout. He played the rest of the game without his signature item, his receding hairline on full display.
This turn of events prompted some interesting observations from the Twitter-verse:
Wow. I thought it was Jerry. Stack house. But it's Lebron without a headband
— Metta World Peace (@MettaWorldPeace) June 19, 2013
Maybe the headband was actually LeBron's kryptonite?
— PTI (@PTI) June 19, 2013
I'm never wearing my headband again either #riptotheheadband
— Ty Lawson (@TyLawson3) June 19, 2013
After the game, a thrilling NBA Finals comeback in which James nailed a clutch three, scored 16 fourth-quarter points and posted a triple-double, the first two questions for him afterwards were about his headband.
"I don't even remember the play much," James said. "I was just focused on the job, the task at hand, and just trying to be aggressive, just trying to figure out ways I could help the team get back into the game. And you know, I guess the headband was the least of my worries at that point."
Perhaps the headband wasn't on James' mind (or his head, for that matter), but basketball fans across the country certainly had not forgotten about it.
In the immediate aftermath of the "Headband Game," no fewer than 100 parody accounts were created for the piece of stray fabric. One of those handles, @LebronzHeadband, racked up 19,000 followers in less than 24 hours thanks to a series of humorous tweets.
Lebron im on the sideline next to the bald camera guy help he wont stop looking at me
— Lebron's Headband (@LebronzHeadband) June 19, 2013
Shout out to Jose the Janitor for scoopin me and bringin me back to Lebron's locker. Lmao now I know how Nemo felt
— Lebron's Headband (@LebronzHeadband) June 19, 2013
On Wednesday, the Heat started selling t-shirts referencing the lost headband and Mike Miller's shoeless three-point shot:
Miami Heat now selling “No Headband/Shoe, No Problem” T shirts for $24 pic.twitter.com/9yawE1B7rC (H/T @heatballer236)
— darren rovell (@darrenrovell) June 19, 2013
There have also been some questions as to what exactly happened to the headband. Apparently, it was spotted at the Miami Seaquarium.
Alas, even though the headband-less LeBron appeared to provide good luck to the Heat, it has been confirmed that he will start Game 7 on Thursday with a headband. And even James had some fun with the whole ordeal.
LeBron had fun w/his headband during our interview - kissed it, said sorry for abandoning it. He'll start Game 7 w/it on & see how he plays.
— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) June 19, 2013
