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LeBron James meets 12-year-old Gaia, the fan who went viral when she “freaked out” when the Lakers star sat next to her for Saturday’s game against the Warriors, as The King says: “That’s exactly why I love what I do.” !’
The 12-year-old was caught on camera ‘going completely nuts’ when LeBron James sat next to her during the Lakers game on Saturday and was able to meet him and take a picture backstage.
The Lakers caught the moment on camera, with James filmed high-fiving the young Gaia and the Lakers captioning the image on Instagram of the two together as “healthy.”
James shared the video of Gaia’s stunned reaction to his Instagram Story, writing, “That’s exactly why I love what I do!”
‘The King’ was out of his team’s game against the Golden State Warriors on Saturday due to an ankle problem; he hasn’t played since he became the NBA’s all-time leading scorer Tuesday night and now has a career-high 38,390 points to his name.
It meant that he took a courtside seat on Saturday, which happened to be right next to young Gaia and her brother.
LeBron James met 12-year-old Gaia after she freaked out when he sat next to her during the Lakers’ game Saturday night against the Golden State Warriors.
James was also filmed giving a high-five when the Lakers said the meeting was “wholesome.”
Gaia was visibly shocked when James sat next to her during Saturday’s game.
She didn’t immediately realize it was LeBron, but once she did, she was visibly shocked, covering her mouth with her hands, turning to her brother and glancing occasionally at James.
ESPN sideline reporter Lisa Salters headed over to interview Gaia and asked her about the experience of sitting next to greatness. Amusingly, James was still sitting there as the question and answer occurred.
“I ordered these tickets over three months ago because I was so excited,” she said.
“I really expected LeBron to break the record in this game and when he broke it I was like, ‘Congratulations,'” he said.
‘When he ended up sitting here, I’m obviously not as tall as him, so I could only see his shoes.
“And then I look up, I see LeBron James and the thing that goes through my mind is, ‘Oh my gosh, the greatest basketball player of all time is sitting next to me.'”
‘I just freaked out completely. I’m just thinking “OMG this is the best time of my life.”
Rounding out a brilliant night for Gaia, the Lakers posted a 109-103 victory against Western Conference rivals Golden State.
James, 38, did not play for the Lakers because of an ankle problem
James wore a beaded bracelet that marked him becoming the NBA’s all-time leading scorer.
They will then play Monday night against the Portland Trail Blazers and it is not yet known if James will be able to play.
But the 38-year-old is still basking in the glory of his magnificent achievement on Tuesday night.
He was seen wearing a bead bracelet on his wrist that read 38,388, the total he needed to reach to eclipse the 38-year-old record set by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.