LeBron James have endeared himself to plenty of Los Angeles Lakers fans when he shared his Taco Tuesday stories with his family and teammates. However, the smiles immediately flipped upside down when King James turned a meme into a business opportunity.

He filed a patent for the “Taco Tuesday” phrase and is seemingly intent on turning it to an exclusive phrase that only his camp can use. Understandably, plenty of LA fans found his move as foul and unnecessary.

“It’s a national slogan. To patent it? Come on, give me a break,” said Valerie Bracamontes, 53, who was dining at Trejo’s with three members of her family, via The New York Times' Daniel Hernandez. “He definitely doesn’t know L.A.,” she said.

Al Sennie, who was preparing tacos on Tuesday at Worldwide, said Mr. James should not be faulted for his business acumen, “if he can get away with it.” L.A. will always love the Lakers, he said. But he paused when asked if the trademark request was ill-advised.

“Before he came over here it was already ‘Taco Tuesday’” in Los Angeles, Mr. Sennie said. “He should come down to Worldwide and really know what Taco Tuesday is all about, and bring the whole team.” Mr. Sennie, making his own potentially exaggerated claim, added: “These are the best tacos in L.A.”

LeBron James is seeking an NBA championship with the Lakers. With the coming season looking the most open it has been for years, his team has a real shot at winning the Larry O'Brien trophy. He has capable teammates in Anthony Davis, Dwight Howard, Rajon Rondo and Kyle Kuzma to help him win his fourth NBA title.

While plenty of Lakers fans hope that he wins the title for them, they would want him to just leave the tacos alone.