LeBron James Holds Back Laughter During Macy Gray’s National Anthem At NBA All-Star Game

LeBron James is arguably basketball’s biggest star today. A 19-year veteran of the sport, James has won three NBA championships in addition to winning the NBA MVP award four times. After trying to conceal a giggle while singer Macy Gray performed the National Anthem at the NBA All-Star Game in Cleveland on Sunday evening, LeBron James divided fans.

While Gray, a native of Canton, Ohio, delivered a slowed-down rendition of The Star-Spangled Banner in her signature raspy voice, the NBA superstar, 37, was seen on camera clearly keeping himself from laughing. The Los Angeles Lakers forward was one of many celebrities whose reactions to the 54-year-old Grammy winner’s performance at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse were captured by cameras.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Murray, and Steph Curry were also caught on camera during Gray’s appearance, although none of them looked to laugh as hard as James. Several Twitter users pointed out that James was laughing during Gray’s performance, using GIFs of the NBA icon, whose team defeated Kevin Durant’s team 163-160.

One user tweeted a GIF of Leslie David Baker’s Stanley Hudson from The Office laughing, while NBA writer Mark Medina said the superstar ‘held back laughter’ during her performance. Gray made a surprise appearance in the film Training Day as an irate woman whose home had been illegally raided, according to one user.

Some fans linked Gray’s performance to Fergie’s in 2018, when the Black Eyed Peas singer delivered a slow, blues-infused version of the song, which went viral thanks to NBA star Draymond Green’s reaction. Check out several reactions and tweets below.

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