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LeBron James Subtly Threatened To Kill Everyone’s Family Moments Before The Heat’s Closeout Game

During Chris Bosh’s surprisingly endearing appearance on Jimmy Kimmel last night, we got a little peek into the night the Miami Heat won the title. In addition to the largely unimportant details (the Heat didn’t get to Club LIV until 4 in the morning, Bosh himself stopped at Taco Bell beforehand, and LeBron James didn’t know all the words to the songs he was rapping) we also heard what James told his teammates moments before the biggest game of their lives. And it was dark.

The quote itself is actually taken from Sports Illustrated’s cover story on the newly-minted champion. Here it is in full.

The reality show that kicked off two years ago—”when I sat up there and decided I was going to take my talents to South Beach”—reached its climax Thursday night, as he gathered his teammates at American Airlines Arena before Game 5. “This is what I told them,” he says. “If someone came to you right now and told you, ‘If you don’t win tonight you won’t see your family again,’ how would you play? Approach this game like your family is in danger. How bad do you want to see your family again?”

Bosh’s reaction to this chilling speech, which he relayed to Kimmel last night, wasn’t exactly one that screamed “I’m motivated!” But it was very, very Boshy.

“We were getting ready,” Bosh said. “We were already emotional. He said that, and I was kind of in the zone when he said that and I snapped out of it and I was like, ‘Well, I want to see my family again.’”

The full clip of Bosh talking about LeBron’s Liam-Neeson-in-Taken moment is here (fast forward to the 3:20 mark).

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