Good fortune tends to follow LeBron James.
And luckily for Duquense, it extended to its NCAA Tournament opener.
The Dukes of the Atlantic 10 Conference pulled off one of the notable Day 1 upsets from the tournament as the No. 11 seed defeated No. 6 BYU, 71-67.
But before the game James, gave the Dukes sneakers as a sign of good luck.
The Dukes are coached by Keith Dambrot, an Akron, Ohio, native who coached James at St. Vincent-St. Mary’s High School from 1999-2001, before leaving for an assistant position at the University of Akron, where he served as the head coach from 2004-17.
Duquesne basketball were gifted with Nike LeBron 21s for the NCAA Tournament. Duquesne men’s basketball on X
The players were excited, as evidenced by the video posted from the Dukes’ basketball account, gifted with Nike LeBron 21s for the tournament.
“Appreciate it King,” Duquense Basketball wrote on X, accompanied with a prayer hands emoji.
James wrote back, “Yessir!!” with three prayer hand emojis, adding, “Best of luck guys!!
Jimmy Clark of the Duquesne Dukes dunks while wearing the Nike LeBron 21s. Getty Images
Following the Dukes’ victory, James was very congratulatory, sending multiple posts celebrating the accomplishment.
“AYYYYYYYEEEEE!!! First tournament win in 55 years!” he said, tagging coaching Dambrot and the program.
LeBron James gifted the Duquesne Dukes sneakers before their upset victory over BYU in the NCAA Tournament. Getty Images
Keith Dambrot, the head coach of Duquesne, coached LeBron James in high school. Getty Images
Dambrot, who helped lead the Dukes to victory, nabbed the program’s first NCAA Tournament win since 1969.
Ohio native and senior Dae Dae Grant paced the historic victory with a team-high 19 points, freshman Czech Republic import Jakub Necas came off the bench to add a career-best 12 points.
Duquesne faces No. 3 seed Illinois on Saturday with a Sweet 16 berth on the line.