LeBron James was ruthlessly roasted after he was filmed misinterpreting a crowd chant at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. While LeBron thought the audience was cheering for him, it was, in fact, French swimmer Léon Marchand who stole the spotlight. The awkward moment was filmed, quickly becoming a viral clip on social media.

Team USA routed Brazil in basketball on Tuesday night (August 6) at Bercy Arena, 122-87, to advance to a semifinal on Thursday (August 8) against Serbia, The New York Times reported on Tuesday.

During the game, LeBron was captured mistakenly thinking the crowd was chanting his name but quickly realized the mix-up upon understanding that the cheers were really for the French Olympic gold medal-winning swimmer.

A person shared the awkward blunder on X (formerly known as Twitter), writing: “Hysterical moment at the end of the USA-Brazil basketball game.

LeBron James was ruthlessly roasted after he was filmed misinterpreting a crowd chant at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games

Image credits: kingjames

“LeBron James came back to the bench from the locker room. The crowd ERUPTS.

“LeBron thought the applause was for him. But really it was for Léon Marchand entering the arena.”

An X user commented: “The fact that LeBron James started waving his hands when they were clapping for Léon Marchand is the most LeBron James thing ever.”

Image credits: Shamus/Getty

“Lebron James who thought the crowd was cheering for him when they were cheering for Léon Marchand LMFO,” a French observer quipped.

The official X page for Eurosport France chimed in: “Léon > LeBron. No, King James, the ovation is indeed for King Marchand, the originator of a remarkable arrival at Bercy!”

Léon was reportedly sat behind the Team USA bench as fans became very excited after realizing he was in attendance.

While LeBron thought the audience was cheering for him, it was, in fact, French swimmer Léon Marchand who stole the spotlight

Image credits: Shamus/Getty

LeBron already made headlines earlier this week after it was revealed that Team USA basketball stars shunned the Olympic Village and opted instead to stay at the four-star Paris Marriott Opera Hotel.

The Los Angeles Lakers power forward player was spotted among his teammate Kevin Durant and fellow basketball players Brittney Griner and Breanna Stewart, checking into the luxurious accommodation, The Daily Mail reported on Monday (August 5).

This information comes as a backdrop to controversy over the living conditions inside the Olympic Village in the French capital, which has been exposed by a handful of athletes.

Image credits:  Shamus/Getty

Nevertheless, Team USA reportedly “demolished” Brazil to move into the semifinals after the Brazilians “made the mistake of waking up an American squad that looked ready to put things in cruise control in the second quarter.”

The Brazilians pushed back in the second quarter to cut the US lead to eight with about four minutes to go, leading coach Steve Kerr to call timeout and break Brazil’s momentum. After that, the US closed the half on a 21-5 run and never looked back, CNN reported on Tuesday.

There were reportedly concerns ahead of the Olympics that such a star-laden US team might have trouble gelling and performing as well as the national teams who are more used to playing together.

The awkward moment was filmed, quickly becoming a viral clip on social media

 

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In addition to LeBron and Kevin, those playing for Team USA are Stephen Curry, Bam Adebayo, Devin Booker, Anthony Davis, Anthony Edwards, Joel Embiid, Tyrese Haliburton, Jrue Holiday, Kawhi Leonard, and Jayson Tatum. 

With all the American players being prominent NBA stars, the four-time defending Olympic gold-medal-winning team has emerged as a favorite for the Paris Games.

However, Team USA faces stiff competition, such as France, featuring Victor Wembanyama and Rudy Gobert, in addition to Serbia with Nikola Jokić, ESPN reported on Tuesday.

 

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The Americans will play Serbia in the semifinals on Thursday at 9 pm CET. The Serbs stunned viewers when they trailed by 24 points in the second quarter against Australia on Tuesday, only to produce a historic Olympics comeback.

After trailing Australia by 24 points in the second quarter in the men’s Olympic Basketball tournament and being down by 12 points at halftime, Team Serbia ended up winning 95-90.

The Balkanic team became the first to overturn a 12-point disadvantage at halftime of a knockout game of the Olympic Tournament, the International Basketball Federation (IBA) reported on Tuesday.

Team USA routed Brazil in basketball on Tuesday night (August 6) at Bercy Arena

Image credits: kingjames

The Aussies were leading 44-20 with under seven minutes left in the first half, with Canberra native Patty Mills scoring 18 points, IBA recalled.

Team Serbia responded with a 15-2 run to trim the gap to 11 points, and Priboj native Marko Gudurić came off the Serbian bench and scored nine points over the rest of the period to make it 54-42 at halftime.

Croatia native Ognjen Dobrić hit two triples, and Belgrade native Bogdan Bogdanović scored seven points as their country pulled ahead 61-60.

LeBron James thinks the French crowd is cheering for him; they are actually cheering for French swimmer Léon Marchand 😂 pic.twitter.com/dOBVtUOjp5

— Ratings Game Sports (@RGMSPORTS) August 6, 2024

Léon was reportedly behind the Team USA bench as fans became very excited after realizing he was in attendance

Hahaha LeBron James qui pense qu’il est acclamé par l’Arena alors que c’est pour Léon Marchand. Oups. #Paris2024 😅 🇫🇷 pic.twitter.com/c9CrmshXc5

— MORDU2FUT (@Mordu2FUT) August 6, 2024

From that point on, it was Serbia just delivering a punch and then answering every time Australian players delivered one back, as per IBA.

This game didn’t just have a major comeback. It also had a thrilling ending as Patty hit a floater with 1.4 seconds to go to force overtime 82-82.

Serbian guard Vasilije Micić reportedly said Team Australia punched them in the mouth as the Europeans were not ready out of the gates.

Lebron James qui pensait que le public l’acclamait alors qu’ils acclamaient Léon Marchand ptdrrr pic.twitter.com/GsLHwtF9Nt

— VIT Keyzer 🐝 (@bkeyzer_) August 7, 2024

Hysterical moment at the end of the USA-Brazil basketball game.

LeBron James came back to the bench from the locker room.

The crowd ERUPTS.

LeBron thought the applause was for him.

But really it was for Léon Marchand entering the arena. pic.twitter.com/0z52mJ9Jus

— Ben Stevens (@BenScottStevens) August 6, 2024

“They destroyed us at the start of the game,” Vasilije said. “They played so well, they smelled blood. We didn’t respond well. We had the right attitude but physically we were not ready to respond.”

He added: “In this kind of game it seems like a short game but there is plenty of time to respond, which we did in the second quarter. 

“And we got back into the game in the third quarter. We had great players who led us in the last 25 minutes.”

The viral moment continued to ignite amusement

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