The recent home game of the Los Angeles Lakers had their talisman, LeBron James invested in the match but for unexpected reasons. The 39-year-old witnessed the on-court shortcomings of a franchise fan as the supporter missed out on a potential $10,000 prize. It sparked a hilarious reaction from LeBron as a crowd of nearly 19,000 took notice of that.
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A clip capturing the entire scenario from the stands recently surfaced on X (formerly Twitter). The fan had participated in the timeout show during the match against the Charlotte Hornets. At first, he tried his luck from the half-court before eventually air-balling his shot. The camera immediately zoomed in on James as the 4x champion struggled to contain his laughter in front of the spectators.
Following this, the announcer presented a second opportunity to the participant declaring the prize of getting to spend two nights in Las Vegas. The supporter failed to make the most out of his second chance too as he air-balled another attempt from right outside the arc. That time around, the 19x All-Star burst into laughter before reassuring the fan, stating,
“It’s all good”.
So, the ridiculous misses of the participant brought out the playful nature of the small forward. Alongside that, James probably laughed because of the fan’s lost opportunity to win prizes ranging from $10,000 to $100,000. After all, one such instance took place in this season’s Milwaukee Bucks’ home match against the New York Knicks where a Bucks fan won $10k for making a half-courst shot.
Unfortunately, the Lakers fan was not as lucky as the supporter from the East. Thus, the hosts tried to make it up to him by the end of the match with their 133-112 win against the Hornets. LeBron in particular had a memorable game, registering 17-11-4 in 25 minutes while marking his 556th career double-double in the home triumph.
This occasion adds to several such fan moments between LeBron James and NBA fans
These halftime and timeout games provide the fans with the chance to earn their fame. So, the players often stay closely associated with these moments to acknowledge the efforts of the participants. Particularly, James has done so on a couple of instances as he even celebrated with the winners.
One such moment took place more than a decade back during his time with the Miami Heat. That time around, a Heat fan had tried his luck from the half-court with a one-handed hook shot before eventually making it to win $75,000 in prizes. Following that, the 6ft 9″ rushed to the court to jokingly tackle the fan, giving rise to an iconic player-supporter NBA moment.
Another instance took place a couple of years back as a Lakers fan made the most out of an opportunity in 2019 to win $100,000. He scored from a jumper from the half-court before imitating LeBron’s ‘The Silencer’ celebration on the court. To make the scenario unforgettable for the supporter, James did the same from the bench.
Thus, this time around, the 4x Finals MVP was possibly waiting for one more such occasion. Sadly, it never arrived as the fan’s efforts went in vain. Ironically, it still produced a memorable instance for LeBron, just not in the way any of us would have imagined.
