Hip-hop icon and Lakers legendary super fan Snoop Dogg recently claimed that he quit smoking, which ultimately ended up being a ploy to promote a partnership the legendary rapper has with Solo Stove, a smokeless fire pit brand.
“I love a good fire outside but the smoke was too much. Solo Stove fixed fire and took out the smoke. They changed the game and now I’m excited to spread the love and stay warm with my friends and family,” Snoop said in a press release.
The rapper and entrepreneur’s statement shocked fans Thursday after he posted a black-and-white IG post, announcing: “After much consideration & conversation with my family, I’ve decided to give up smoke. Please respect my privacy at this time.”
So while this genius marketing ploy had legitimate news outlets convinced that Snoop was smoked out, LeBron decided to pick the blunt up. Carry on tradition.
The imaginary blunt that is.
Yes, during the second quarter of the Lakers’ nail-biter of a win against the Houston Rockets on Nov. 19, LeBron and his Lakers teammate forward Christian Wood did a special handshake where it looked as if LeBron was passing Wood an imaginary marijuana blunt.
The 38-year-old was also seen later in the game doing the same gesture with Anthony Davis. LeBron was seen rolling up an imaginary joint before passing it to Anthony Davis, these handshakes going viral on social media.
This isn’t the first time we have seen this ritual from the Lakers. Back in 2021 they did something similar.
Passing the wood to Wood is a hilarious take on it, and the allusion might’ve gone over a lot of fans’ heads. But the fans weren’t worried about that take on the gesture because many fans were just viewing it from a comic perspective. Bron being Bron.
While a lot of fans are saying that LeBron has a secret handshake with all of his Lakers teammates, it is also very similar to the handshake that New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers did with his teammate cornerback Sauce Gardner.
Now whenever LeBron does something controversial, the world has multiple reactions. The handshake isn’t really controversial, but rather comical and playful. Nonetheless, it still brought forth tons of different comments and judgments from the social media mosh pit.
Bron’s Puff Puff Pass Celebration Got Mixed Reactions
Some fans were upset that the NBA legend would even do a gesture like that in the first place, considering that Bron is the face of the NBA and that plenty of younger fans look up to him. It also could have meant LeBron was smoking that Rockets pack, a more acted-out gesture of what Patrick Mahomes’ father Patrick Mahomes Sr. was saying when he quipped he was “smoking that Joe Burrow pack,” taunting Burrow and the Bengals after the Chiefs beat them in the 2022 AFC Championship Game.
This might become the newest taunting trend in sports. We will see how long NBA commissioner Adam Silver allows it, as the NBA has also joined society in embracing new attitudes towards cannabis.
Whether the NBA will choose to strike down on this type of celebration should it become more popular in the media and modern culture is unknown yet, but many will contest that the handshake carries a negative connotation to it.
We don’t know if LeBron has a secret meaning behind this handshake, and that he’s disobeying Stephen A Smith’s golden rule for athletes, but right now the Lakers are a rising 8-6, and LeBron is averaging 26.4 points so far.
Whatever they’re doing, it’s working, and it could be the case of a superstitious handshake.
