The 2025-26 NBA season will be LeBron James‘ 23rd in the league, and he has gotten his fair share of lucky breaks over the years. Most commonly, James has gotten away with traveling often in his career, and Steve Nash once asked him what the most egregious one of the lot was on the Mind the Game podcast.
“The basketball gods was not on my side,” James said. “The one that comes to my mind right now [is], it was my second stint with Cleveland playing in Washington. We were down one, I got the ball in transition about half-court, and I was driving the lane. It’s late in the game. I was driving the lane, and I got into the lane and I traveled like a motherf***** and I got all the way to the lane and missed the layup.”
Nash asked James if he missed because he felt guilty, but that wasn’t the case. It did feel weird, but he made amends for the miss by hitting an insane turnaround three-pointer with less than a second remaining to tie the game. James hilariously stated that because he had blown that layup, the basketball gods were back on his side when he put up that crazy shot.
“Came back around because I’m true to the game,” James said. “I missed it. If I would have made it, then we’d probably have lost the game.”
Steve Nash asked LeBron about the most egregious travel he’s ever gotten away with
😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/FqQtq1uXdd
— BronMuse (@BronMuse) October 14, 2025
James was referring to the game between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Washington Wizards on Feb. 6, 2017. His ridiculous shot tied the game at 120, and the contest would go to overtime.
James, however, fouled out just 47 seconds into the extra period, and you thought that might be that for the Cavaliers. He had racked up 32 points (12-18 FG), seven rebounds, 17 assists, two steals, and two blocks at that point, and losing him was a big blow. The rest of the team did not throw in the towel, though, and they’d go on to win 140-135.
The Cavaliers snapped the Wizards’ 17-game winning run at home with this result. It was a statement win from the defending champions, who would make it back to the NBA Finals later that year. Unfortunately, the Cavaliers stood little chance against the Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry-led Golden State Warriors and lost in five games.
Getting back to the topic of traveling, while James has gotten away with it a lot of times in his career, it’s not like he’s never been called for it. The Los Angeles Lakers superstar ranks third all-time for traveling violations in NBA history with 355. Only Kevin Garnett (495) and Dwight Howard (370) are ahead of him.
James, who is currently sidelined with sciatica, would be hoping he doesn’t climb up any further on this list, but he might end up passing Howard at some point. Even the 21-time All-Star won’t be getting close to Garnett, though. It’s honestly shocking how far ahead the Minnesota Timberwolves icon is from everybody else.
