LeBron James learned about the crying fan in the middle of a Lakers game.
On a night when the NBA‘s all-time leading scorer acknowledged the emotional toll of the fires surrounding Los Angeles, James received a mid-game message about a girl sitting courtside.
Video footage showed the a girl wearing a No. 23 Lakers jersey bending over and crying in disbelief as James walked near her on Wednesday night.
“A family friend sent me the clip at halftime,” said James, who scored 22 points in the Lakers 117-108 home victory over the the Miami Heat.
The King immediately recognized how overwhelmed the young girl was, so he decided to reach out after Los Angeles improved to 21-17 on the hardwood.
With the basketball victory complete, James picked up another huge life win.
He walked toward the girl, removed his purple wristband, handed the girl a gift, and then knelt for a photo.
“This is awesome to see!” a fan tweeted. “Good for him!”
“How can anyone hate on LeBron man?” a second fan wrote.
“Legend,” a third fan posted. “MJ would never.”
“So wholesome!” a fourth fan said. “Shout out to LeBron.”
James explained after the game how much the moment affect him.
x@nbaA young Lakers fan became overwhelmed seeing The King up close[/caption]
x@nbaJames approached her after the game and made a personal connection[/caption]
x@nbaHe then took a photo that will last forever[/caption]
x@TheAthleticJames acknowledged after the Lakers’ win he’s been off because of the LA fires[/caption]
“Thank goodness that I looked at my phone at halftime or I wouldn’t have even seen the reaction when I waved to her in the first half,” James said.
“To have that type of connection with someone where they can have that type of reaction, that’s what it’s all about.
“I’ve always tried to be a role model and someone that kids can look up to me — men, women, whatever the case may be — and try to make them proud and they want to come see me play.”
James, who has three children, was also overwhelmed by the power of the girl’s reaction.
“That was a super-dope moment,” James said. “I have a little girl myself back home. I made sure that I went over and chopped it up with her after the game.
“I gave her one of my ‘I Promise’ bands and took a picture with her. … I think it will be something that hopefully she will never forget.”
While James loved his life-changing connection with the young Lakers fan, he acknowledged that the last week has taken an emotional toll on him.
The Lakers postponed two games due to the fires, which have killed at least 25 people.
“I have a couple of dear friends that have lost their homes in the Palisades,” James said.
“My heart goes out to all of the families … across L.A. County and all the surrounding areas because of the fire.
“It’s been a lot of emotions. Kind of been off. Personally, I’ve been off.
“I’ve just been completely off for obvious reasons, but hopefully things are contained or continue to be contained.
“Hopefully at some point we can start to push forward and move forward and put it behind us.”