LeBron James is a wine guy, famously sharing years ago that he drinks a glass of the grape pretty much every day. He partook on Monday night, but under quite unusual circumstances.
During the third quarter of the Philadelphia 76ers‘ home matchup against the Chicago Bulls, James chased after a loose ball and ended up bumping into a fan who happened to be carrying a cup of red wine.
James saw this as an opportunity for a quick tasting, so he grabbed the cup from the fan’s hand and took a sip before getting back out onto the floor.
While it made for a viral moment and gave the fan, Troy Clemons, a story he could tell for the rest of his life, he didn’t make it any bigger than what it was.
Speaking with ESPN’s Kris Rhim after having his cup of wine taken from him, Clemons shared his initial reaction to the moment while dropping a strong line about James being a regular guy.
“At the end of the day, he’s another man like me,” Clemons said when asked what he was going to do with the cup James drank from. “He’s LeBron, but I threw that cup in the trash, and it’s nothing up with him, but I just got a fresh drink.”
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In a world where the majority of people in Clemons’ situation would have milked the situation for all it is worth, it’s cool to see a regular guy have a regular reaction to a moment such as this.
Philadelphia ended up blowing out the Bulls 126-107 on Monday night, as James scored 15 points, dished out nine assists, and snagged seven rebounds in 31 minutes of action.
James’ tenure in Philadelphia has gotten off to a nearly flawless start, with the 76ers opening the campaign up at 7-1 and the 41-year-old looking extremely comfortable in a new city and a new role of not being asked to do all of the heavy lifting.