March 18, 2013. TD Garden. Boston.
Most people remember the photo. Jason Terry is flat on his back, looking up at the rafters like he’s contemplating his life choices, while LeBron James looms over him like a vengeful god. It wasn’t just a basketball play. It was an eviction notice.
Honestly, LeBron dunking on Jason Terry is probably the most disrespectful thing I’ve ever seen on a basketball court that didn't involve someone getting punched. People still talk about it today, over a decade later. But why? LeBron has a thousand dunks. Why did this one end up on a Wikipedia "death date" edit?
It wasn’t just the physics of a 250-pound freight train meeting a 180-pound guard. It was the beef.
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The Cold War Before the Dunk
You’ve gotta understand the context here. This wasn't some random Tuesday night game between two teams that didn't care. The Miami Heat were in the middle of their historic 27-game winning streak. They were untouchable.
But Jason Terry? He was the guy who had been chirping in LeBron’s ear for years. Terry was a huge part of the 2011 Dallas Mavericks team that dismantled the "Heatles" in the Finals. He famously outscored LeBron in that series. He even had the Larry O'Brien trophy tattooed on his bicep before the season even started. Bold.
By 2013, Terry was a Celtic. The Celtics and Heat hated each other. Before this specific game, Terry had been talking more trash, basically saying he wasn't impressed by the Heat’s streak.
Big mistake.
The Sequence of the LeBron Dunking on Jason Terry Play
The play itself was chaotic. It started with a turnover. Terry actually had the ball, but Dwyane Wade—who never forgot the 2011 loss either—stripped it away.
Mario Chalmers got it. He flipped it to Norris Cole. Cole saw LeBron trailing.
Then, it happened.
Cole threw a lob that was, frankly, a bit too high. It didn't matter. LeBron caught it with one hand, cocked it back, and Terry was just... there. Terry later admitted in an interview with Bleacher Report that it was pure instinct. He turned around, saw the ball, and jumped.
"I turned back around and he was already in the air," Terry said. "In slow motion."
LeBron didn't just dunk the ball; he dunked Jason Terry. He caught him with his knee in the chest and sent him spiraling to the floor. The sound was different. You could hear the impact through the TV broadcast.
The Aftermath and the Stare
LeBron didn't run back on defense. He stood there. He glared down at Terry for what felt like an eternity, earning himself a technical foul. He didn't care. The message was sent.
After the game, LeBron was unusually blunt. He told reporters that it was "one of my better ones" and admitted that because it was Terry, it felt a little bit better.
"I've had a chance to [review] it, and it was one of my better ones. The fact that it happened to J.T. made it even better. Because we all know J.T. and he talks too much sometimes." — LeBron James
Why This Dunk Still Matters in 2026
We see great dunks every week in the NBA. High-flyers like Ja Morant or Anthony Edwards are constantly catching bodies. But the LeBron dunking on Jason Terry moment remains the gold standard for "the poster" because it ended a rivalry.
Basically, Terry never really recovered his "tough guy" persona after that. The internet, which was much different back in 2013, absolutely cannibalized him. People were changing his Wikipedia page to say he died on March 18. Memes showed him in a coffin with Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett as pallbearers.
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Terry was a good sport about it, eventually. He later joked that he was "checking his phone for three weeks" because people were texting him to see if he was actually okay.
Technical Breakdown: The Physics of a Poster
Let’s look at the numbers. LeBron was in his physical prime in 2013. He was winning MVPs and Defensive Player of the Year votes.
- LeBron's Height/Weight: 6'9", ~250 lbs.
- Terry's Height/Weight: 6'2", ~180 lbs.
- The Result: A 70-pound weight discrepancy traveling at full speed.
When LeBron's knee hit Terry's chest, it provided the leverage to keep LeBron in the air while Terry's momentum was completely neutralized and reversed. Terry wasn't just outjumped; he was physically displaced.
Common Misconceptions About the Game
A lot of people think the Heat blew the Celtics out because of that dunk.
Actually, the Celtics were leading for a good chunk of that game. Jeff Green had a career-high 43 points. The Heat had to fight back from a 13-point deficit to keep their streak alive. LeBron ended up hitting the game-winning jumper with about 10 seconds left to seal the 105-103 victory.
The dunk was the highlight, but the game was a classic battle.
How to Appreciate the History
If you're a basketball fan, you should do a few things to really "get" why this moment is legendary:
- Watch the Phantom Cam version. The NBA released a slow-motion "Phantom" version of the dunk. It shows the sweat flying off Terry and the sheer force of LeBron's grip on the rim.
- Read the 2011 Finals stats. Look up what Terry did to the Heat in 2011. It makes the 2013 dunk feel like a cinematic revenge arc rather than just a sports highlight.
- Check out Jason Terry's "Untold Stories" interview. Hearing him describe the "funeral" memes makes the whole thing feel more human.
The LeBron dunking on Jason Terry moment is a reminder that sports are best when there's genuine emotion involved. It wasn't just points on a scoreboard. It was a King reclaiming his throne from a guy who tried to take his crown two years earlier.
If you want to see how this dunk changed the way the NBA markets highlights, look at how social media teams handle "posters" today. They’re all chasing the high of March 18, 2013.