LeBron James tends to have better luck.
And fortunately for Duquens, it extended into the NCAA Tournament opener.
The Dukes of the Atlantic 10 Conference pulled off one of the more notable upsets on the first day of the tournament, as the No. 11 seed defeated No. 6 seed BYU 71-67.
But before the game, James gave him a pair of Dukes sneakers as a sign of good luck.
The Dukes are coached by Keith Dambrot, a native of Akron, Ohio, who coached James at St. Vincent and Saint Louis University. He attended Mary’s High School from 1999 to 2001 before taking an assistant position at the University of Akron, where he was the head coach from 2004 to 2017.
The players who were given Nike LeBron 21s for the tournament were excited, as seen in a video posted by the Dukes’ basketball account.
“Thank you, King,” the Duke basketball player wrote to X, along with a praying hands emoji.
James replied, “Yes!!” He added three prayer hands emojis and added, “Good luck everyone!!”
After the Dukes’ win, James was very congratulatory, sending out multiple posts celebrating the feat.
“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! First tournament win in 55 years!” he said, tagging Dambro’s coaching and program.
Dambro led the Dukes to victory, the program’s first NCAA Tournament championship since 1969.
De De Grant, a senior from Ohio State, scored a team-high 19 points in the historic win, while freshman Jakub Necas, an import from the Czech Republic, came off the bench and added a career-best 12 points. .
Duquesne will play third-seeded Illinois on Saturday for a spot in the Sweet 16.
