LeBron James is back in LaLa Land, and everyone took notice. Instead of winding down from an exciting trip to Africa over the summer, he went straight to SoFi Stadium for some Monday Night Football. It marked one of his first big sightings in Los Angeles since signing a landmark contract with the Philadelphia 76ers, where he witnessed part of NFL history and unintentionally became a viral part of it after reacting to Matthew Stafford’s touchdown pass.
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James was in celebrity row to watch the Los Angeles Rams’ 28–6 victory over the New York Giants in Week 2. The 41-year-old NBA icon went viral after cameras caught his enthusiastic courtside reaction to Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford’s 31-yard sidearm touchdown pass to Davante Adams.
That was his 426th career regular-season touchdown, and Stafford passed Philip Rivers to claim sixth place on the NFL’s career passing touchdown list.
LeBron James, who is fourth on the NBA’s all-time assists list (12,016) behind traditional point guards in the Top 3, clearly appreciated the quarterback’s pinpoint mechanics. Broadcast cameras captured James mimicking Stafford’s sidearm throwing motion from his suite.
The clip went viral, and LA’s sports fans loved seeing him appreciate another athlete’s phenomenal pass. Even LeBron later reshared a clip of that posted by @uninterrepted on his personal Instagram stories.
However, James’ visible presence in Southern California just a week before Philadelphia’s official media day on Sep. 28 sparked intense online banter from fans and rivals. Many LA fans teased their now-rival superstar for spending his remaining days off in Los Angeles rather than settling into Pennsylvania.
The reactions to @BrickCenter_’s post on X, which got over 390,000 views, ranged from “GOAT still repping LA,” to “Everywhere but Philadelphia.”
A few fans also called him a bandwagoner, considering he once supported the Dallas Cowboys and later, the Cleveland Browns. This sentiment was echoed across posts with the same clip shared by different accounts, including the NFL’s official account.
While the night belonged to Stafford and the Rams, King James still managed to make his LA outing into viral chatter.
The SoFi Stadium appearance caps off a whirlwind, international offseason for James, whose primary family residence remains in Los Angeles. Just days prior to attending the Rams game, James completed his first-time trip to the African continent. He joined Hollywood star Will Smith to travel to Luanda, Angola, for the inaugural E1 Luanda Grand Prix all-electric powerboat race.
Smith posted a photo alongside James during the trip with the caption, “Philly in the building,” a nod to Smith’s hometown and James’ new franchise.
Alongside responsibilities as a celebrity team owner of Team AlUla in the international E1 Series, James also visited the National Museum of Slavery in Angola with business partner Maverick Carter and met with Angolan President João Lourenço.
“It’s just great to be here. Obviously, it’s a lot of history here,” James told reporters outside the museum in Luanda. “A lot of history that not only is here in the country, but also crosses over to America.”
E1 chief executive Jamie Copas praised James’ global impact, noting, “It’s not a short trip, but he is here because he believes in what we’re doing. You can’t underestimate the value of it. They come with huge followings.”
With his global promotional tours and West Coast downtime concluding, James’ official commitment to Philadelphia begins in earnest on Sep. 28 for the 76ers’ media day, followed by the start of training camp on Sep. 29.
Philadelphia will kick off its preseason schedule on October 5 against the defending champion New York Knicks, marking the start of James’ historic 24th NBA season as he aims to guide the 76ers back to championship glory alongside Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and Jaylen Brown.