Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James was honored at Dodger Stadium on Saturday night as the Los Angeles Dodgers hosted a bobblehead night for the four-time NBA Champion.
Although he did not throw out the ceremonial first pitch, James was in attendance at a Dodgers game for the first time since joining the Lakers, sitting in a suite with his family.
Dodgers president Stan Kasten went up and visited with the James family, presenting LeBron with a $100,000 check for his foundation.
That wasn’t the highlight of the night though as Dodgers star Mookie Betts hit two home runs in L.A.’s win over the Miami Marlins, saluting James after touching home plate with him returning the favor:
MOOKIE PUTTING ON A SHOW FOR @KingJames! pic.twitter.com/Y2ZJGVWTZJ
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 20, 2023
Witnessing greatness. pic.twitter.com/fORYezBorn
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 20, 2023
Two homer night? Mookie’s feeling like a King. 👑 pic.twitter.com/V04LRJNdOt
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 20, 2023
The King has arrived. 👑 pic.twitter.com/L8RsQfXA6n
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) August 20, 2023
James has always been one to support the other professional teams of the city he plays in, so it was cool to see him out at Dodger Stadium for a change enjoying a nice night of baseball.
And it appears he may be the Dodgers’ good luck charm as Betts put on a show with L.A. sweeping its double-header over Miami. Overall, the Dodgers have won 13 of their last 14 games to take control of the National League West division.
Betts giving James something to cheer about was returning the favor as LeBron has typically had good games when other L.A. sports stars are in attendance for Lakers games at Crypto.com Arena, whether it be Mookie or Los Angeles Rams players like Aaron Donald and Matthew Stafford.
The Lakers and Dodgers both won their last respective championships in 2020 during the pandemic so there wasn’t much of an opportunity for fans to celebrate with no parade taking place for either. The city has been starving for another championship since then, and both the Dodgers and Lakers will have a chance to make it happen this year.
James switching back to No. 23 this season
The next time Betts or anyone sees James playing a game for the Lakers ay Crypto.com Arena, he will be wearing a different number after switching from 6 back to 23.
The move was made out of respect to NBA legend Bill Russell, whose jersey was retired across the league after he passed away last year.
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