CLEVELAND: Iman Shumpert may have a future in medical school when his NBA gig is over.
Shumpert helped deliver his daughter early Wednesday morning in the bathroom, his fiancée Teyana Taylor wrote on her Instagram account Thursday. Taylor, who wasn’t due for another month, wrote that she didn’t realize she was in labor until she felt the head of her daughter coming out. It only took two 10-count pushes, Taylor wrote, until Iman Tayla Shumpert Jr. arrived.
The injured Cavs guard tied headphones around the umbilical cord before the ambulance arrived a few minutes later.
Shumpert was not expected to play Thursday against the Oklahoma City Thunder anyway because of a groin injury he suffered in Tuesday’s win against the Boston Celtics. He was not at the arena prior to Thursday’s game, although coach David Blatt said he may arrive during the game. Shumpert is still receiving treatment for the groin injury and is considered questionable for Sunday’s home game against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Durant chasing history
LeBron James believes Thunder forward Kevin Durant can challenge Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time scoring record. Jabbar retired with 38,387 career points. Durant, 27, began the night with 16,056.
“His ability to score the ball is obviously up there with the greatest to ever play,” James said. “I know that’s not in his memory bank right now, him trying to help the team get better and better, but long term he definitely can challenge that.”
James said Durant’s skill set is unique.
“He’s a 7-footer with 6-foot ball-handling skills and a jump shot. And athleticism,” James said. “It’s never been done in our league. Never had a guy that’s 7-foot, can jump like that, can shoot like that, handle the ball like that. So it sets him apart.”
LeBron on hip-hop
James said he grew up listening to the hip-hop group N.W.A., which was recently inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
“I grew up listening to every hip-hop artist, even as a youngster. N.W.A. was part of the shuffle,” James said. “I didn’t know the full story about what they were going through about how big they were at that point in time, but as I got older, I started listening to hip-hop myself and started to study the music and also read about those guys.
“I understood that their music was much bigger than them just writing, jotting lyrics on a piece of paper and rapping them or singing them, however you want to categorize that. They had a bigger meaning and it was a big pop culture thing, not only for the west coast and Compton, California, but also for every inner-city hood in America.”
Fond memories
Thunder coach Billy Donovan first saw James play in the summer prior to his junior year of high school. It was clear to Donovan even then he was watching a special talent.
“Cleary he was, by far, the best player in the country, never mind on his AAU team,” he said. “He always incorporated those guys. He always made the right play, always shared the ball. If someone was open, he passed it. I always admired that about someone as gifted and as talented and as good as he was and he could do so many different things, but I saw a guy at young age who took a lot of pleasure in passing the basketball.”
Jason Lloyd can be reached at jlloyd@thebeaconjournal.com.