Stepping over the "Step-over"

Tyronn Jamar Lue was born in Mexico, Missouri, on May 3, 1977, and for the most part of the last years, he tried to get rid of an uncomfortable label. Even if he won two championships with the Los Angeles Lakers and had many years of honorable NBA career, coach Lue - as he must be called these days - never got to leave the shadow of the “Step-over”.

Of course, we’re talking about the gesture that Allen Iverson, after scoring a three in the poor Lue’s face, fallen to the ground in the meantime, stepped over him without mercy, also giving him a gaze of undisguised disregard. From that time, poor Tyronn has been marked and his name has always been sided with The Answer’s “step-over”.

The episode happened at the beginning of the new millennium, didn't have the chance to become viral as we intend it today, as the social networks didn’t exist at the time. That hasn’t stopped Lue and Iverson’s image to become an icon, in its own way, of American basketball culture, also with some semi-artistic revisits that became some sort of arts. 

At the same time, of course, we also have some less dignified revisits, that we can call by their own name… That would be memes. Just like more illustrious colleagues - aka “Crying Jordan” - Lue has become the undisputed protagonist of a series of memes and mocking, that can still be found easily on the internet. And even if we usually celebrate sportsmen with their best achievements for birthdays and anniversaries, this time we preferred to remember some of the best and funniest memes. Because let’s say it, they’re hilarious.

We gathered some of the best we could find, and there also are some shameless guys that wanted to have a pic with Lue while wearing some “step-over” branded shirts and hats. Because yes, there are “step-over” branded shirts and hats. There’s also a reverse-revisitation, where Lue assumes Iverson’s features, stepping over the poor David Blatt, fired by the Cleveland Cavaliers and replaced by the former Celtics’ assistant coach himself. Our favorite? The one with LeBron’s step-over on Draymond Green, hands down.

Lue’s hope of eventually get rid of this burden is far from dead and the championship won last season with his Cleveland Cavaliers can be a huge step ahead. Even if, to be remembered for his sports achievements, he probably have to win a couple more. Happy birthday, Step… Uhm, coach Lue!