Suns’ Jae Crowder breaks silence on salsa dancing vs. LeBron James, Lakers

Jae Crowder produced one of the more indelible images of the 2021 playoffs when he trolled LeBron James via salsa dance during the Phoenix Suns opening round defeat of the Los Angeles Lakers.

Crowder broke out the move in the waning moments of Phoenix’s series-clinching Game 6 win over the Lakers on June 3. (He promptly received his second technical foul and was tossed.)

The salsa move was in reference to one of James’ recent commercials, in which he (comically) proclaims himself “Salsa King” (LeBron’s moves are pretty good, btw.)

Six weeks later, the Suns are on the verge of a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals, while LeBron is busy promoting Space Jam: A New Legacy.

On Wednesday, prior to Phoenix’s Game 4 matchup vs. the Milwaukee Bucks, Crowder — who has long beefed with LeBron — revealed why he broke out the salsa during a chat on ESPN’s “The Jump”. As you may have guessed, Crowder was responding to LeBron and the Lakers’ blatant trolling in Game 3 at Staples Center. (In Game 4, James took exception to a Crowder foul, and made that known in an NSFW-manner.)

“I don’t know if you remember Game 3. They did a LOT on the sidelines in Game 3,” Crowder explained to his and LeBron’s former Cleveland Cavaliers teammate, Richard Jefferson. “That ruffled a lot of feathers on our side. That gave us some extra spark and motivation. That’s all it was.

“We was chasing that 30 seconds,” Crowder added. “That means that last 30 seconds, when those guys are done, we were chasing that feeling…We waited til the last 30 seconds of defeat to let our trash-talking do the talking, and that’s what you saw.”

It’s not the first time Jae Crowder has addressed the salsa. Last month, the Suns forward said this during an appearance on ESPN’s Jalen & Jacoby:

“They tried to clown us during Game 3. I don’t know if ya’ll saw that. I told myself once we get this thing done, I got a few moves in my bag for them. That’s what I was thinking. I couldn’t dance Game 3, I had to wait till Game 6 when we got the job done a little bit.”

The Lakers did not win another game after Game 3, while the Suns embarked on a nine-game winning streak through the Western Conference playoffs.