LeBron James' embarrassing 'crown' moment at Olympics after Leon Marchand mix-up

LeBron James found himself in a blush-worthy mix-up at the Olympics, as videos show the basketball icon mistakenly basking in applause from fans that was actually intended for Leon Marchand. As Team USA triumphed over Brazil with a commanding 122-87 victory in the men's basketball quarter-finals, the cameras captured LeBron making his way onto the court and taking a seat beside Anthony Davis.

Noticing the roaring cheer as he glanced at the screen, the basketball superstar waved to the crowd and mimed placing a 'crown' upon his head , an act many interpreted as assuming the adoration was for him. However, the focus swiftly shifted, revealing the true recipient of the cheers.

French swimming sensation and four-time Olympic gold medallist, Marchand, was also present, enjoying the game amid friends and sharing chuckles each time the big screen caught his attention. The endearing moment saw LeBron unwittingly enjoy the praises sung for Marchand.

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The amusing incident spread quickly after a fan posted it on social media, noting: "Crowd started cheering and LeBron thought it was for him, but it was for gold medal French swimmer Leon Marchand in the crowd," reports the Mirror .

This footage has since gone viral, amassing an impressive 3.7 million views and eliciting countless amused reactions from viewers. Some X users threw shade at the basketball superstar, with comments like: "Bro really thinks he is the main character all the time" and "Bron really thinks everything is about him smh."

Others chimed in with: "I was cheering for you King! " and made light-hearted remarks such as: "Muscle memory at this point, understandable confusion."

Nonetheless, a portion of the fanbase rallied behind James. One supporter pointed out: "He looked up on the big screen to see what it was and these idiots had him on there for a good minute, what else was he supposed to think? " Echoing this sentiment, another added: "I mean if they was showing the man on the big screen what else he supposed to think?"

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Among the banter, some social media enthusiasts didn't hold back, with one person quipping: "That's totally embarrassing. He'll be clowned for that in the locker room."

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After cruising past Brazil, James will next compete with Team USA against Serbia on Thursday, August 8 at 8pm in the second semi-final of the day.

In other news, Olympic record-setter Marchand now has some downtime following his sweep of the men's individual swimming events, which included victory in the men's 400m individual medley, 200m butterfly, 200m breaststroke (setting a new record), and 200m medley. At just 22, this phenomenal French swimmer has bagged an unprecedented four golds at a single Olympics, earning him comparisons to the legendary Michael Phelps.

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