Sports

We Ranked the 10 Greatest LeBron James Memes of All Time, and We're Now Smiling Through It All

By Blake Silverman Sports Illustrated

LeBron James is on quite the run this postseason. Although his Lakers are down 2–0 in the Western Conference semifinals to the defending champion Thunder, he led Los Angeles past the Rockets in round one without Luka Dončić. But even more than that, he's on a generational run of memes.

He's been a meme factory for quite some time, but the recent run over the playoffs in such a short span has brought back all the gold provided over his illustrious career. And we probably missed out on some great memes because, well, flip phones were still a thing when he came into the league.

On Thursday night, James had an instant meme where he very seriously nodded along as his teammate Austin Reaves animatedly talked with officials after the Lakers' 125–107 loss to Oklahoma City in Game 2. We've all been there, a conflict you don't want to deal with so someone else deals with it for you.

In the first round against the Rockets, James added a few classic memes to his repertoire, too. There were the facial expressions toward Marcus Smart, the complaining to a young fan behind the Lakers bench in Houston and his unnecessarily funny jab at Alperen Şengün while at the foul line.

No matter the moment, there's a LeBron meme that fits.

So that got us thinking here at Sports Illustrated: What are James's best memes over the years? From a treasure trove of iconic moments, here are our 10 favorite ranked:

10. Throw them out!

A classic to start us off, which tells you just how many elite memes LeBron has created without even trying. A few years ago, James escorted an official toward a couple of fans sitting in the front row during overtime of a road game against the Pacers. In all seriousness, the fans likely said something messed up to get James that riled up, but the moment gave us a meme that's stood the test of time.

9. LeBron Down 3–1

There's some recency bias here after Joel Embiid replicated LeBron's iconic sunglasses and headphones look as the 76ers completed the 3–1 comeback on the Celtics in the first round. This meme was born during the 2016 NBA Finals when James steered a 3–1 comeback to lead his hometown Cavaliers to the franchise's first title with an epic win over the Warriors.

No 3–1 lead will ever be the same.

8. LeBron puts on Wendell Carter Jr.'s goggles

 

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Another classic. LeBron simply leaving a press conference has turned into a useful meme that you can pull out whenever you don't want to deal with something. Just put on your shades, grab a briefcase and walk right up out of there. Make sure you're wearing a suit with shorts, though.

6. It ain't our ball?

An animated James on the bench has brought plenty of greatness. Him running down the bench to argue an out of bounds call brought one of the best bench moments. James screaming "our ball" repeatedly was a great meme template, from comparisons to your dog in the neighborhood dog park to imagining he was just saying tree in Spanish.

Actor and Lakers fan Jack Black had fun with this moment, too:

5. The LeBron James kid

Any OG Vine fans out there? Alright, this one's on the fence since LeBron's not actually in it, but the adorably hilarious LeBron James kid needs a spot on this list. This is how everyone pronounces the King's name ever since this classic, right? At least that's the case for my seldom of a basketball watcher wife. The cultural relevance of this one is strong.

4. When South Beach LeBron was unbelievably locked in

The image of LeBron viciously staring down everyone in his way will live on forever. In what was an epic performance to force a Game 7 with the Celtics, the iconic stare plays whenever you need to lock in. For James, he dropped 45 points in a 19-point win over Boston before his Heat took care of business in the decider. Miami then took down the Thunder in five games in what became the greatest scorer of all time's first NBA title.

3. J.R. Smith forgets the score in the NBA Finals

This is one that LeBron wishes never happened, but no matter how high the stakes were when J.R. Smith forgot the score as the clock ran out in Game 1 of the 2018 NBA Finals. James and the Cavaliers would lose the game in overtime and the Warriors would go onto complete the four-game sweep to defend their title. Championships live forever, but memes do too.

2. Taco Tuesday

A staple way back when, a meme that was so good it gave you a reason to look forward to Tuesdays. The best part was that James's "Taco Tuesday" phase was simply an effort to embarrass his family. Just common dad things.

1. Smiling through it all! Can't believe this my life

A true classic and the undisputed GOAT of LeBron memes. So much so that his son Bryce imitated it himself. Unlimited use cases from the King of memes.

More NBA Playoffs from Sports Illustrated

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This article was originally published on www.si.com as We Ranked the 10 Greatest LeBron James Memes of All Time, and We're Now Smiling Through It All.

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This story was originally published May 9, 2026 at 7:53 AM.

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