LeBron James wasn’t going to sit back and let the courtside fans in Denver have free shots at him during game 5 on Tuesday (AEST).
The Los Angeles Lakers superstar put his team on his back as he tried to extend the first round playoff series against the Nuggets.
His efforts ultimately fell short as the reigning NBA champions secured the 108-106 win and closed out the series 4-1 to advance to the second round.
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But as the intensity of the contest wore on, one Denver fan sitting courtside grew increasingly more confident and attempted to try and get under the skin of James.
Midway through the third quarter, James found himself in a tussle with Nuggets star Nikola Jokic.
As the two men battled for a rebound, James was called for this third foul which angered the man known as “The King”.
James couldn’t believe the foul call and threw his hands in the air as he walked towards halfcourt. But as he was doing so he glared angrily towards the sideline.
The courtside fan wasn’t liking James’ reaction and unleashed in his direction as she continually called him a “f***ing crybaby” while aggressively gesturing towards him.
After James said to the broadcasters “these refs are f***ing horrible”, the fan taunted him again, prompting James to take the matter into his own hands.
As he walked past the fan the 39-year-old stopped on a dime and feinted towards the fan causing her to flinch and move back into her chair.
James walked back towards the on court action laughing as the fan looked to continue her verbal barrage despite losing the battle.
He was then seen mocking the fan as he put his hands up and recoiled in shock before pointing the fan out.
Footage of the incident quickly went viral with NBA fans questioning the fan’s behaviour throughout the interaction.
One wrote: “As a fan in the stands. Im just there to cheer for my team and get hyped. I wouldn’t say one thing to the opposing team, mocking them and making gestures etc … entitled/privileged behaviour which gives them type people false security because they know its no consequences.”
A second added: “Will never understand being blessed to have courtside seats just to do this.”
A third wrote: “Lmao her life flashed before her eyes.”
While James may have won that battle with the fan, the loss to the Nuggets ends the Lakers season and kicks off speculation surrounding the future of arguably the greatest NBA player of all time.
James declined to provide clarity when asked if he considered the loss to be his last game in a purple and gold jersey.
“Um, I’m not going to answer that,” James said after a brief pause during a postgame press conference. “Appreciate it.”
When asked about his decision about returning for year 22 in the NBA, James said: “I don’t have an answer … to be honest. I haven’t given it much thought.”
James explained he would meet with agent, Rich Paul, and his family to evaluate “what’s best for my career” at some point.
“We’ll cross that when we need to,” he added.
James played coy when he was asked about “what’s next” for his summer plans and next season.
“I just want to get home to the family honestly … One of my boys is deciding if he’s going to enter the draft or go back to school,” James said, referring to his oldest son, Bronny James. “I got another kid [Bryce James] that’s playing AAU ball right now and my daughter [Zhuri James] is playing volleyball — and my wife [Savanah James] is doing so many great things, so it’s about family right now … so that’s kind of the initial thoughts.”
James explained that he’ll be resting his body before training camp with USA Basketball for the Paris Olympics this summer.
He finished the last game of his 21st season with 30 points, 11 assists, nine rebounds and four steals.