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LeBron James splashed $3600 on insane gift to entire Duquesne basketball team before historic March Madness game
LeBron James gave the Duquesne Dukes a moment they will cherish forever on the eve of March Madness last year. In 2024, the Dukes qualified for their first NCAA Tournament since 1977, having been crowned champions of the Atlantic 10 tournament. LeBron gifted the Dukes his new signature shoeGetty Ahead of their first-round contest against BYU last March, Los Angeles Lakers star James sent the entire Duquesne men’s basketball team a pair of his signature sneakers. During a pre-game meeting, the players received a special delivery of gifts that were brought into the room. Viral footage showed the young ballers unboxing the shoes to reveal shiny new pairs of James’s latest shoe, the LeBron XXI. The shoes are blue and grey, while Duquesne’s colours are navy and red. The sneaker appeared to be the Nike LeBron 21 ‘Light Armory Blue’, which were officially released on March 15, 2024. They retailed for around $200 at the time, meaning it would have cost a cool $3600 for all 18 members of the Duquesne squad. It’s highly unlikely ‘The King’ paid for them out of his own back pocket – he’s pretty well connected at Nike after all – but the sentiment was still there. The Duquesne men’s basketball account shared the team’s reaction on social media at the time, and James responded: “Yessir!! Best of luck guys!!” LeBron, it turns out, was pretty well tied to the program. His former high school coach at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School, Keith Dambrot, was head coach of the Dukes last year. Duquesne players unboxed shoes gifted to them by LeBron on the eve of last year’s tournamentX@DuqMBB They took photos as they showed off the new shoeX@DuqMBB The Dukes went on to secure an upset victory in their opening March Madness gameX@DuqMBB View Tweet: https://twitter.com/DuqMBB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Under Dambrot, Duquesne won the A-10 Conference Tournament to punch their ticket to March Madness. They went 24-11 during the 2023-24 campaign and hit ‘The Big Dance’ for the first time in over 40 years. Duquesne were the No.11 seed last year, and took on the No.6 BYU Cougars in their first game. In what was a huge upset, the Dukes won the game 71-67, to reach the second round of the tournament for the first time since 1969. Dae Dae Grant scored 19 points, including four clinching free throws in the final 10 seconds, and the Dukes held on for victory after blowing a 14-point lead earlier in the game. They went on to face third-seeded Illinois in the second round, where they were overpowered in a 89-63 defeat that ended their unlikely run. Duquesne forced an upset in their first game of March Madness last yearGetty The Dukes overcame BYU with a 71-67 winGetty Duquesne went on to face Illinois in the second round, but came up shortGetty After an appearance at ‘The Big Dance’ in 2024, Duquesne came crashing back down to Earth this year. Dambrot retired after leading the team to March Madness and under first-year head coach Dru Joyce III this time around, the Dukes finished the season with a 13-19 record. The team failed to defend their A-10 tournament crown, crashing out in the second round, meaning they will not feature at the NCAA Tournament this year. How to watch March Madness in the UK *If you click a link in this box we will earn affiliate revenue March Madness is one of the most exciting times of the year for basketball fans, with a total of 68 teams battling it out to become the Division 1 college champions. This year UConn have the chance to become only the second team ever to complete a March Madness three-peat, having emerged victorious for the last two years. talkSPORT will have the latest news on the tournament, but for UK basketball fans the way to watch is through Sky Sports. The broadcaster will be showing EVERY March Madness game through their Sky Sports + streaming service. Click here to sign up to a Sky Sports subscription, or read our article on the best Sky Sports deals available now.
LeBron James gave the Duquesne Dukes a moment they will cherish forever on the eve of March Madness last year.
In 2024, the Dukes qualified for their first NCAA Tournament since 1977, having been crowned champions of the Atlantic 10 tournament.
Ahead of their first-round contest against BYU last March, Los Angeles Lakers star James sent the entire Duquesne men’s basketball team a pair of his signature sneakers.
During a pre-game meeting, the players received a special delivery of gifts that were brought into the room.
Viral footage showed the young ballers unboxing the shoes to reveal shiny new pairs of James’s latest shoe, the LeBron XXI.
The shoes are blue and grey, while Duquesne’s colours are navy and red.
The sneaker appeared to be the Nike LeBron 21 ‘Light Armory Blue’, which were officially released on March 15, 2024.
They retailed for around $200 at the time, meaning it would have cost a cool $3600 for all 18 members of the Duquesne squad.
It’s highly unlikely ‘The King’ paid for them out of his own back pocket – he’s pretty well connected at Nike after all – but the sentiment was still there.
The Duquesne men’s basketball account shared the team’s reaction on social media at the time, and James responded: “Yessir!! Best of luck guys!!”
LeBron, it turns out, was pretty well tied to the program.
His former high school coach at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School, Keith Dambrot, was head coach of the Dukes last year.
Under Dambrot, Duquesne won the A-10 Conference Tournament to punch their ticket to March Madness.
They went 24-11 during the 2023-24 campaign and hit ‘The Big Dance’ for the first time in over 40 years.
Duquesne were the No.11 seed last year, and took on the No.6 BYU Cougars in their first game.
In what was a huge upset, the Dukes won the game 71-67, to reach the second round of the tournament for the first time since 1969.
Dae Dae Grant scored 19 points, including four clinching free throws in the final 10 seconds, and the Dukes held on for victory after blowing a 14-point lead earlier in the game.
They went on to face third-seeded Illinois in the second round, where they were overpowered in a 89-63 defeat that ended their unlikely run.
After an appearance at ‘The Big Dance’ in 2024, Duquesne came crashing back down to Earth this year.
Dambrot retired after leading the team to March Madness and under first-year head coach Dru Joyce III this time around, the Dukes finished the season with a 13-19 record.
The team failed to defend their A-10 tournament crown, crashing out in the second round, meaning they will not feature at the NCAA Tournament this year.
How to watch March Madness in the UK
*If you click a link in this box we will earn affiliate revenue
March Madness is one of the most exciting times of the year for basketball fans, with a total of 68 teams battling it out to become the Division 1 college champions.
This year UConn have the chance to become only the second team ever to complete a March Madness three-peat, having emerged victorious for the last two years.
talkSPORT will have the latest news on the tournament, but for UK basketball fans the way to watch is through Sky Sports. The broadcaster will be showing EVERY March Madness game through their Sky Sports + streaming service.
Click here to sign up to a Sky Sports subscription, or read our article on the best Sky Sports deals available now.
