LeBron James must be used to the amount of attention he gets as an athlete, to the point that he can just ask people for help on how to stream X-Men '97 without anyone batting an eye. The NBA legend and part-time actor is no stranger to the weirdness that comes along with fame, but this latest trend on TikTok may be too much even for him. Now that North West has officially jumped on the bandwagon, we need to talk about how confused I am about this bizarre meme and why it has me so excited for the NBA playoffs.
Those who follow North West on TikTok might have been confused recently when she shared this video, which was a slideshow of photos of LeBron James to the song "You Are My Sunshine." The fact that West does not allow comments on her posts likely only made the situation more confusing, as those seeking context could not get it. For those of us who are perpetually online, however, this was a high-profile star acknowledging the bizarre trend that infiltrates a number of videos online with the following image and song found below:
@emotionalvideogram ♬ You are my sunshine - 100% Memes
The origins of the meme reportedly were that it was created by sports fans poking fun at the rabid fanbase of LeBron James who often praise or defend the aging superstar on social media. When the picture shows up in unsuspecting TikToks, the joke is driven further by users using the copypasta that begins with "Boy oh boy, where do I even begin? LeBron..." This is meant to once again poke fun at the fans of the athlete and the way some celebrate him on social media and speak as though they have some personal connection with him.
It's also worth noting that James is one of the most unintentionally hilarious athletes of all time, so a meme like this being attached to him is on brand. Whatever the reason for the meme may be, it began to slowly catch on, with even professional sports organizations like the Brooklyn Nets acknowledging it:
@brooklynnets ♬ original sound - cc.morant®
The crowd chanting in that video is not legitimate, but when the NBA postseason begins, it might very well be. The Los Angeles Lakers are currently the 10th seed in the West, and will need to escape the play-in tournament with two wins to officially make the playoffs. If they do, they'll be against the Denver Nuggets as the defending champions, which could be a rough matchup.
I could certainly see a scenario in which people are either ironically singing "You Are My Sunshine" to troll LeBron James during his upcoming matchups, or in support of him should he have a tremendous game to help his team. Let's not forget James is the all-time leading point scorer in NBA history after passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar last year, so the possibility of the latter happening even against a top contender isn't out of the question. If that happens, maybe we'll get one of the rarer remixes of this meme, which include the "UK Drill LeBron":
@bludolski ♬ original sound - bludoslki
I wasn't kidding when I said it was confusing and weird, which makes it all the more hilarious that North West referenced it. The aspiring musician and child of Kanye West with Kim Kardashian is likely to rub shoulders with LeBron James or his family at some point, though who knows how closely he pays attention to the internet? James likes to share his thoughts with the world about classic movies and the game of basketball, but I'm not sure he'd acknowledge something as strange as this.
North West has been on social media, albeit with restrictions, for a while. Her mother, Kim Kardashian, has mixed feelings about it, but doesn't want to take away something that her kid enjoys just because of what she might see on the internet. So far, it doesn't seem to be a problem, though one has to wonder what the ten-year-old may discover, considering the headlines her father has made for lewd activities. For now, she's busy posting memes about athletes, which feels fun and harmless enough.
The 2024 NBA play-in tournament kicks off on April 16th through the 19th, so if you want to see if people will be singing at LeBron James, mark those calendars. I know I'll be watching, and while I'm a fan of another playoff-bound team, I'll certainly keep an eye on the Lakers should they overcome the odds to make a run and see if any more memes come from it.
