LeBron James threw down a dunk for the ages Wednesday night in the NBA Finals, completing an insane steal-then-scramble-then-one-handed-alley-oop sequence that instantly became one of the iconic plays of his career.

But this is more than just an amazing play. There's a lesson in this for the rest of us. It's one we've heard before, and one one we'll doubtlessly hear again.

The lesson: Put down your phone from time to time, behold the world beyond that backlit screen. Otherwise? You could end up just like the guy who missed LeBron's stunning slam.

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James' dunk came against the Golden State Warriors in the third quarter of Game 3 of the NBA Finals. We covered it, and NBA.com's Lang Whitaker interviewed the photographer.

But it wasn't until a Twitter user by the handle of @VLA818 pointed out a background detail that this amazing play became a Teachable Moment. Here we have a tragic story, told in two tweets and one zoom-in.

This Jesse Garrabrant / @GettySport photo belongs in the damn Louvre. pic.twitter.com/wjhDk6Tz0r — Sam Laird (@samcmlaird) June 9, 2016

Sure, the subject of our zoom-in could just be stretching his neck or studying the inseam of his pants — but most of us recognize his seated position as a classic phone-checking stance. Checking Tinder? Uploading an Instagram? Texting Mom?

Let's take another look. Image: JESSE D. GARRABRANT/NBAE VIA GETTY IMAGES



This whole situation is, of course, drenched in irony. There's a digital-age concept called FOMO — that is, Fear of Missing Out. FOMO revolves around anxiety and curiosity about what we're not present for — which is to say, all those picture-perfect slices of life your friends post to social media. So — constantly worried about what we're missing out on — we incessantly check our phones for updates on all the fun we're not having.

The problem, of course, is we then miss wonderment occurring right in front of our faces.

Like, for example, a synapse-tickling LeBron James dunk in the NBA Finals.

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