LeBron James waved at young fan sitting courtside at Lakers game. Then she cried tears of joy
- Share via
LeBron James made a young Lakers fan’s night Wednesday at Crypto.com Arena. And then for good measure, he did it again.
During the first quarter of the Lakers’ game against the Miami Heat, James noticed a girl sitting courtside and wearing a replica of his jersey. So he gave her a wave, then turned his attention back to the game.
James didn’t notice the girl’s priceless reaction at the time, but the camera operators at Spectrum SportsNet did. The station’s clip of the youngster crying tears of joy while smiling from ear to ear after being acknowledged by the NBA’s all-time leading scorer quickly went viral — so much so that James actually saw it during the intermission.
“Family friends sent me the clip at halftime,” James told reporters after the game. “Thank goodness that I actually looked at my phone at halftime or I wouldn’t have even seen the reaction when I waved to her in the first half. ...
“To have that type of connection with someone, where they can have that type of reaction, I think that’s what it’s all about, you know? I’ve always tried to be a role model and someone that kids can look up to.”
LeBron James told Jason and Travis Kelce that outside of his four NBA titles, playing with son Bronny on the Lakers is ‘probably the No. 1 accomplishment.’
He added: “That was a super-dope moment.”
James had an even doper moment in store for the kid after the game.
The Lakers trailed by 12 at halftime but mounted a furious comeback in the second half. After James hit a three-pointer to pull the Lakers to within one at the 6:40 mark of the third quarter, the girl was on her feet cheering and then yelled, “Yeah, LeBron!”
After the Lakers’ 117-108 win, James made it a point to find the girl, give her one of his foundation’s I Promise wristbands and pose for a photo in what was clearly another memorable moment for the fan.
A video shows a fan approaching and putting his hands on Lakers star LeBron James on the bench during a timeout against the Thunder at Crypto.com Arena.
“I think it’ll be something that hopefully she will never forget,” said James, who finished the game with 22 points, four rebounds and nine assists. “I’m happy to be a part of her life now and that small little moment was such a bigger moment. And hopefully she brags about it in school.”
All things Lakers, all the time.
Get all the Lakers news you need in Dan Woike's weekly newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
