Nobody expected tonight’s NBA Cup matchup between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Dallas Mavericks to be derailed. In the middle of the high-stakes night marking Anthony Davis’s first game back in LA, the fans’ attention in Crypto.com Arena shifted to one person sitting right next to the Lakers bench.

It happened fast. As LeBron James sat on the bench, subbed out of the game, a woman sitting close to the LA sideline exchanged some words with him. He spoke a few short words, and soon afterward, arena security hurried over, surrounding her seat, and she and someone with her were escorted out. The interaction was caught on camera by some onlookers, and the clip quickly went viral online.

The ejection does match the code of conduct at Crypto.com Arena, which reads, “Guests who engage in disruptive behavior (including foul/abusive language or obscene gestures), fighting, throwing objects,… will be immediately ejected from the venue without refund or reimbursement.” It’s unclear what the fan actually said, but clearly, it was serious enough to call for immediate ejection.

It called enough attention that Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt also went over to their seats alongside security, looking over to see what was happening.

But the game didn’t stop. The entire sequence seems to have taken place during free throws, and as soon as the foul shots were taken, the matchup went on as usual, and it didn’t seem like the talk affected LeBron at all: he posted a well-rounded stat line of 13 points, five rebounds and seven assists. The shot didn’t fall as much as he probably would’ve liked, but the team still pulled out a win to secure a lossless record in this year’s NBA Cup Group stage.

LeBron James’ Long History of Drawing the Line Courtside Against Fans

Tonight’s removal wasn’t an isolated incident, but the latest confrontation that LeBron James has had to be a part of during his Los Angeles Lakers tenure. Back in 2021, during a matchup against the Atlanta Hawks, when a heckler, dubbed “Courtside Karen” caused an altercation which resulted in multiple fans being escorted out. The moment went viral online, turning into a national story and setting a precedent that that the King isn’t afraid to defend himself when boundaries are crossed.

A similar scene took place in Indiana later that year, where LeBron motioned for security to remove two fans in the front row after they directed inappropriate remarks at him and his teammates. What followed was clutch-time heroics. LeBron buried a three in overtime and quieted the arena, responding not with words but the highlight of the night.

There have been other such moments too. Just last season, in October 2024, James and other teammates looked amused during a preseason game against the Phoenix Suns, when, after the ball went out of bounds, an onlooker refused to pass the ball back to the refs, and was escorted by about six arena employees as he resisted the ejection. Still, the message is consistent. Safety and respect matter, and the league itself has increasingly supported stricter intervention standards. Tonight was the latest example of a superstar unwilling to let courtside disruption slide.