LeBron James has received backlash after he pointed in the face of a young kid who was asking for a picture following Team USA’s basketball Olympic gold medal

LeBron James

LeBron James has been slammed for his interaction with a young fan (Image: Twitter)

LeBron James has been slammed after he snapped and pointed in the face of a young boy who was asking for a photo after he won gold at the Olympics with Team USA. The Los Angeles Lakers star was out celebrating his third Olympic gold medal on Sunday but his interaction with the youngster has marred the occasion.

James and Team USA continued their domination at the Olympics as the US won a fifth consecutive gold medal thanks to a 98-87 victory over hosts France. James played the most amount of minutes of any American player in the final, scoring 14 points and clocking 10 assists.

After the team’s triumph, James headed to a Parisian restaurant wearing his gold medal and holding what looked to be a bottle of wine. A video posted to TikTok featured James out with his wife Savannah in the French capital. The clip showed him walking behind his wife after climbing out of a chauffeur-driven Mercedes as a fan approaches him.

Wearing his Team USA attire, James can be heard sternly saying “stop” and pointing his finger in the youngster’s face, who immediately puts his hand on his chest. A member of James’ entourage then walks around the car and nudges the young boy back after James has walked off.

James then put his showman style back on as he stopped in the doorway of the restaurant and did a little dance for photographers, receiving cheers and applause before greeting someone at the door and finally entering the establishment.

His harsh interaction with the young fan caught the eye of social media users who slammed James for his reaction to the boy, who wanted to take a picture with the NBA icon. “Such a shame, this kid will remember this for the rest of his life too,” one account said.

A second user slammed: “He would be nothing without fans. Shame on him. It takes two seconds to take a photo with the kid.” While a third added: “The kid looks up to him and LeBron James told him to “stop” asking for his picture? What a missed opportunity and it reflects terribly on LeBron. We all have our bad days but the dance move going into his event doesn’t look like a bad day to fans.”

Basketball - Olympic Games Paris 2024: Day 15

James won his third Olympic gold medal (Image: Getty)

Following the US’ medal success, James lauded his teammates for bringing home the gold. “Super humbled that I can still play this game,” he said. “Played at a high level, played with 11 other great players and a great coaching staff and went on and did it for our country. It was a great moment around.”

In all likelihood, James has tasted triumph in the Olympics for the final time as a player with him being 43 by the time the 2028 Los Angeles Games rolls around. The core of the team will likely look very different too. Stephen Curry, 36, and Kevin Durant, 35, may also have said farewell to the Olympic stage.