A fan at Crypto.com Arena was reportedly kicked out of a game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday after walking up to superstar LeBron James and touching him while he was on the bench.
X user @Fernadad1 caught video of the interaction showing the fan grab James’ right shoulder. James, then, shoves the fan away as Crypto.com Arena security steps in to move the fan away from the Lakers bench.
The fan could be seen saying something to James at the moment when he touched “The King” on his shoulder.
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LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers looks on from the bench during the Spurs game on Dec. 13, 2023, at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas. (Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images)
Another angle of the video showed the aftermath of the incident, with James standing now and walking away from where security seemed to take the fan.
James clearly looks frustrated in the moment, as he continued to turn around while putting his warmup sweatsuit on. Others on the Lakers’ bench also looked at James to see what the situation was.
This isn’t the first time James has dealt with fans trying to interact with him, as two fans were ejected during the 2021 campaign for doing so.
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There was also a moment when James was with the Miami Heat, when a fan sprinted onto the court during a game against the Cleveland Cavaliers to interact with James. The fan was wearing a shirt that said “We miss you” on the front and “2014 come back.”
This interaction, though, didn’t leave James frustrated, as he patted the fan on the head before security escorted him off the court.
Lakers forward LeBron James gestures to a referee during the Western Conference semifinal against the Golden State Warriors, May 6, 2023, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
“He said he missed me and come back, please,” James said at the time, via The Associated Press. “It happened once before in (Madison Square) Garden, so I wasn’t worried. There are metal detectors here, so we were OK. I embraced it.”
While some fans don’t mean to be malicious in these moments, athletes in all sports never know their intentions in the moment.
Clearly, James didn’t appreciate this fan walking up to him and touching him on the bench mid-game.
When this moment cleared up, James helped lead the Lakers to a win over the Thunder, 112-105, where he scored 25 points with seven rebounds and six assists over 39 minutes on the floor.
LeBron James of the Lakers at Crypto.com Arena on Jan. 15, 2024, in Los Angeles. (Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
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Los Angeles is hoping to keep collecting wins, as they’re currently 10th in the Western Conference with a 20-21 record on the year.
