LeBron James came off the bench once in his career, and he did it to protect a teammate from being booed
- LeBron James has played in 1,437 games in his 16 years in the NBA.
- Just once in all of those games has James not been a starter - December 11, 2007, against the Indiana Pacers.
- James told the then-Cavaliers coach that he wanted to come into the game alongside teammate Anderson Varejao to protect him from boos from the crowd.
- Varejao was also returning to the lineup after a contentious contract holdout.
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LeBron James has played in 1,437 games in his 16 years in the NBA between the regular season and the playoffs.
In 1,436 of those games, James was in the starting lineup, but for one game in December 2007, he decided to come off of the bench to help a teammate.
While the story of James' one game begun on the bench is more than a decade old, it was recently brought to the top of minds again on Reddit.
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As Don McCormack wrote for Amico Hoops, James had missed five straight games due to a sprained left index finger. He was set to return to the court on December 11, 2007, for a game against the Indiana Pacers in Cleveland.
Cavaliers head coach Mike Brown planned on starting James that game, but the 22-year-old superstar asked to come off the bench. LeBron wanted to enter the game at the same time as teammate Anderson Varejao. At the time, Varejao had just ended a contentious holdout with the team, playing his first game of the season with the Cavaliers after signing a three-year, $17 million contract.
"I thought it would raise the intensity of the fans, having me, Larry and Andy come into the game at the same time - and it worked," James told the media after the game, per McCormack. "I thought by coming in with Andy, it might stop some of the boos Andy might get."
"(I was) just protecting my teammates," James said.
As it turns out, James was right. The trio of James, Varejao, and Larry Hughes - who also took the court at the same time - immediately sparked a 13-0 run, and the Cavaliers won without ever giving up the lead.
James would ultimately play 23 minutes off the bench, scoring 17 points while adding three rebounds and five assists to round out his box score. The Cavaliers won comfortably, 118-105.
It was the first - and last - time James came off the bench at any level.
"That was one and done for me," James said after the game. "I will not be coming off the bench anymore."
The anecdote is another example of the understanding James has of his place in the league and the power he has to help those around him.
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