NEW ORLEANS — When the Philadelphia Eagles were preparing for Super Bowl LIX, Cooper DeJean was with a bunch of his teammates attending the Philadelphia 76ers game against the Los Angeles Lakers. LeBron James was warming up and shook the hands of several Eagles players, including A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith.
Eagles rookie cornerback Cooper DeJean was with them. James bypassed the rookie, saying he didn’t know him or had a prior relationship with him. What made the situation embarrassing for DeJean was how he attempted to reach out and shake James’ hand when he bypassed him.
James probably knows who DeJean is now, as he picked off Patrick Mahomes and scored a touchdown in Super Bowl LIX against the Kansas City Chiefs. DeJean broke the game open with his interception return for a touchdown, putting the Eagles up three scores in a 40-22 victory over the Chiefs.
Was there any resentment toward LeBron for ignoring DeJean? The rookie didn’t seemed to be bothered, even after DeJean scored a touchdown on the biggest stage in sports.
“That’d be pretty cool,” DeJean smiled after being asked after the game if LeBron would dap him up next time. “That’d be pretty cool.”
DeJean became the second rookie to have an interception return for a touchdown in Super Bowl history (Reggie Phillips was the other for the Chicago Bears in 1985). To top it off, DeJean became just the second player in NFL history to score a touchdown on his birthday in a championship game (Eagles legend Steve Van Buren was the other in 1947).
Quite the birthday for DeJean indeed. A pick six and a Super Bowl championship.
“It’s crazy,” DeJean said. “To be able to do it with this group of guys, I come in and since Day 1 — all of us rookies, they brought us in, taught us everything they know. Now, to be here on the biggest stage and be able to hold that Lombardi Trophy and do it on my birthday and Saquon’s birthday (Saquon Barkley has the same birthday as DeJean) — it’s pretty crazy.”
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