A few months ago, Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James said he had officially been bitten by the golf bug.
Anyone who knows the golf bug knows that once it bites you, it typically doesn’t let go. LeBron confirmed as much to reporters after his team’s victory over the Utah Jazz on Thursday night. One member of the media asked him if he believed Utah guard Keyonte George was playing at an all-star level this season. LeBron was respectful, but admitted he’s been occupied elsewhere and wasn’t qualified to provide an educated answer.
“I’m the wrong guy to ask that question, champ,” LeBron told the reporter. “I watch YouTube golf these days, so I’m the wrong guy to ask about that. [Keyonte George] played great tonight, played great the last time we played them, he’s playing good ball. But yeah, I’m more into the Bryan Bros, Grant Horvat, Bryson DeChambeau and the rest of those guys.”
Not only is he watching those YouTube golf channels but LeBron is also becoming a full-blown member of Golf Twitter. On Wednesday, the four-time NBA champion disclosed via social media that he’d been enjoying the Major Cut series on YouTube, where Horvat and the Bryan brothers film themselves playing major championship venues: “Just got done watching one of Grant, George and Wesley’s Major Cut episodes,” LeBron wrote on X. “Remind me to never play at Oakmont CC guys! OMG! I would be a +100!”
Same, LeBron. Same.
The 40-year-old superstar went on to reply to a post from Good Good Golf in which he shouted out the talented Brad Dalke and Sean Walsh for their contributions to his latest YouTube golf binge. Oh, and he was caught practicing his golf swing in a timeout during Sunday’s win over the Suns.
“The bug is real,” he said on a podcast with Steve Nash in October. “I’ve heard about the bug for so many years and I was like, ‘Well, it’s not gonna get me. I don’t like golf at all. Who wants to be outside all day walking around?’ Nah, it’s real. I am into it. My algorithm on social media, every other post, every other video is some type of golf video now.”
LeBron is still averaging 18.6 points, 7.5 assists and 5.6 rebounds per game, so even at 40, he’s far from a bystander on a talented Lakers squad, but it’s no secret that his time on the court will be coming to an end sooner rather than later and there’s much speculation about what he plans to do when the sun sets on his legendary career.
Many believe he’ll step into some sort of front office role within an NBA franchise. Some even think he’ll become an owner one day. Who knows? What we do know is that he’s been watching a lot of golf, he’s practicing his swing during games and it appears that he recently had a simulator installed in his house. Maybe YouTube golf star LeBron James doesn’t seem terribly far-fetched after all?
