An NBA mystery that stretched for months was finally answered Monday.
In this case, the mystery far outweighs the revelation.
LeBron James shared with media members what he said to Lonzo Ball during their postgame conversation from last season, a scene that went viral when James covered his mouth with his Cleveland Cavaliers jersey as Ball nodded a few times after the Cavs 121-112 victory Dec. 14.
"No one can define who you are but yourself," he told media members. "The gist of it was at the end of the day, no one can define who you are but yourself. When you're young, you can get caught up and listening to what people say, what people thinking that you should be, what people saying what your game should be.
"But at the end of the day, no one can define who are you besides yourself. If you put in the work, you commit to the game, then the game will give back to you. And that's all it's about. "Zo's got a lot of talent. You can tell he loves the game. You can tell his teammates love playing with him. So, he's going to be great for this franchise."
Moments after the initial conversation took place, it was clear James wanted the exchange to remain private. He told a reporter, "None of y'all's business," when asked about the chat after the game.
While this is the first time James has commented about the nature of the exchange, fans pretty much knew what was said. Audio of James' conversation with Ball was picked up by a microphone on the court.
James' explanation of the conversation is pretty much accurate. He encouraged Ball to be himself and to ignore all the noise. James does omit that he used profanity in the initial conversation and told Ball to not tell the media about the exchange.
If there's a mystery here, it's figuring out why James wanted to keep the chat a secret in the first place.
Lie down?
Former Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison was considered one of the toughest men in the NFL during his 15-year career, which came to a close after last season.
That's why his unusual advice to former teammate Le'Veon Bell comes as a shock.
Harrison said Bell, who has sat out the first three games of the season amid a contract dispute with the Steelers, should return to the team but fake an injury to avoid playing in games.
Harrison was asked about Bell's situation Tuesday during an interview on FS1.
"If I'm Le'Veon ... I'm coming back, what is it, Nov. 13?" said Harrison, referring to the deadline Bell must report to the Steelers by in order to accrue the necessary service time to become a free agent in 2019. "I'm going to go in there, I'm gonna get my credit this season that I need to get, and I'm going to do the best I can to get out of this season healthy.
"For me, I'd give you everything at practice. You'd see -- the cameras would see -- that I'm fine, I'm healthy. But come Saturday, 'Something ain't right. I can't play on Sunday.' Because if I go out here and I mess something up, I'm losing a lot of money."
Bell has refused to sign his franchise tender of $14.5 million and has forfeited $2.6 million by missing Pittsburgh's first three games. The Steelers recently began listening to trade offers for Bell, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.
Harrison said he thinks a trade involving Bell is unlikely and also warned that a return to the Steelers would be difficult for the three-time Pro Bowler, citing the "friction" in the locker room.
SPORTS TRIVIA
How many sacks did James Harrison have in his NFL career?
ANSWER
84½
Sports on 09/27/2018