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LeBron James Had Classy Move for Opposing Player After Son Bryce Won State Championship

Kristen Wong

Los Angeles Lakers injured forward LeBron James (23) on the court during a time out during the first quarter against the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center.
Los Angeles Lakers injured forward LeBron James (23) on the court during a time out during the first quarter against the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center. / Brad Penner-Imagn Images
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LeBron James was rightfully beaming like a proud father after his youngest son, Bryce James, won the James family’s first state basketball title Friday night.

Bryce played for over 25 minutes in Sierra Canyon’s 58-53 win over Stockton Lincoln in the CIF Division I championship in Sacramento, finishing with just three points but adding five rebounds and two assists.

James was in the house at Golden 1 Center for Bryce’s game after missing the Lakers’ game against the Nuggets due to a lingering groin injury. The Lakers star was so fired-up watching Bryce get a clutch bucket in the fourth quarter, but he also had a classy gesture at the end of the game when a Lincoln player fell onto the court as time expired.

As Sierra Canyon players stormed the court celebrating their thrilling victory, James could be seen walking over to help the fallen Lincoln player up to his feet. 

It was a needlessly kind gesture from the all-time great, who just might have made that basketball starlet’s day:

Here’s another angle of the moment:

James’s plate seems pretty full at the moment as he juggles the responsibilities of playing on the Lakers as well as raising a family including two sons entrenched in basketball life: Bronny, who’s still finding his footing in his rookie year in the NBA, and Bryce, who’s set to join the Arizona Wildcats next season.

It’s nice to see one of the world's most famous athletes extend a thoughtful gesture to one of his son’s high school opponents, as small as that might be.

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Kristen Wong
KRISTEN WONG

Kristen Wong is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. She has been a sports journalist since 2020. Before joining SI in November 2023, Wong covered four NFL teams as an associate editor with the FanSided NFL Network and worked as a staff writer for the brand’s flagship site. Outside of work, she has dreams of running her own sporty dive bar.

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