NBA icon LeBron James called Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce the King of Ohio amid his romance with Taylor Swift.
The NFL star, 34, and Swift’s blossoming relationship created quite a stir across the internet and the media after the pop star, 33, attended three of the Chiefs’ games to cheer on her new beau.
And Lakers superstar James weighed in on the fury, hailing Kelce as Ohio royalty for his new A-List relationship.
The NBA’s all-time leading scorer, long dubbed ‘King James’, handed his crown to the two-time Super Bowl winner, earning him the title as Northeast Ohio’s new most famous athlete.
“Listen, sometimes you have to give up the crown for the next one,” James said on the Thursday Night Football in The Shop alternative broadcast for the Chiefs’ Week 6 19-8 win over the Broncos.
LeBron James called Travis Kelce the King of Ohio amid his romance with Taylor Swift
Swift enjoyed a happy return to Arrowhead on Thursday night as she watched Kelce and the Chiefs beat the Broncos with her boyfriend’s mother Donna (right)
‘What Trav has going on now, and the Swifties, I think I’m going to give him the crown now. He deserves it now.’
Both Kelce and James hail from the Buckeye State and grew up in Westlake and Akron, respectively.
But the NBA star truly cemented his stateside hero status by playing 11 seasons for the Cavaliers over two games and leading the franchise to its first ever championship in 2016.
Earlier this month, James publicly asked for an invitation to appear on Kelce’s podcast, ‘New Heights,’ which he co-hosts with his brother, Eagles center Jason Kelce.
“Wow I can’t get an invite to join your awesome show (sic),” James posted on X. “Is it because you really are the Kings of NE Ohio and I claim to be? Be honest ! Seriously you guys are AWESOME!!’
Speaking on the latest episode of the show on Wednesday, the Chiefs star suggested James was more than welcome to make an appearance as he said: ‘There’s no way we didn’t send LeBron James the invite …’
“If we don’t have it, (then) intern Brian and intern Jake are going to hear it from us,” Jason then said.
“Yeah…they know who’s at the top of our list to try and get here…they know who’s out there,” Travis added.
The NBA star truly cemented his hero status in Ohio by playing 11 seasons for the Cavaliers
Kelce and Swift continued to light up social media Thursday as the Love Story hitmaker watched him play for the third time this season.
Swift flowed in from Los Angeles Thursday morning for the Chiefs’ game against the Denver Broncos after attending the Hollywood premiere of her Eras Tour movie, as her relationship with Kelce continues to grow.
She appeared on good terms with Donna, despite Kelce’s mother throwing apparent shade at her after they first met at Arrowhead for last month’s win over the Chicago Bears.
Brittany Mahomes, wife of Kansas City star quarterback Patrick, sat next to the pair in their suite and could be seen hugging Swift as their men combined brilliantly on the field.
Swift was spotted celebrating with Patrick Mahomes’ wife Brittany (left) that night
The pop sensation’s relationship with Kelce appears to be getting serious as she was also seen chatting with his crush, Ed Kelce, for the first time during the Week 6 game.
And after the Chiefs’ 19-8 win over the Denver Broncos on Thursday Night Football, the Anti-Hero hitter appeared to be spending quality time with the Super Bowl champion.
Swift appeared to have spent the night at Kelce’s home, as her security team was spotted outside the property Friday morning in DailyMail.com exclusive photos.
The vehicles parked outside the tight end’s property were apparently the same SUVs that picked the star up directly from her private jet and drove her away from the airport on Thursday.