For the second time on the Los Angeles Lakers' seven-game road trip, an interaction between a courtside spectator and LeBron James dominated the headlines.
However, unlike last week at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, when Cleveland Cavaliers executive Jason Hillman motivated James in the fourth quarter without even saying a word, a so-called โCourtside Karenโ and her husband at the State Farm Arena did plenty of chirping in The King's direction as the Lakers visited the Atlanta Hawks on Monday.
With 8:09 minutes remaining in the final period, officials stopped play after overhearing the jawing between the fans and James. One of the spectators, who removed her mask to bark, was ejected, while LBJ and the Lakers proceeded to earn a 107-99 win over the Hawks.
LeBron James and a courtside Hawks fan get into it, causing the refs to stop the game. ๐pic.twitter.com/XIHYGNvepX
โ ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) February 2, 2021
โHe crossed those lines with Big Dog, and [Big Dog] retaliated by winning the game,โ said Montrezl Harrell after the game. โHe said something that rubbed the Dog the wrong way.โ
For his part, an upbeat James didn't seem too worked up about the incident.
โMy guy tonight, he went a little bit out of bounds. Too close to comfort for me,โ said James in his post-game Zoom interview session. โAnd I said my peace and we couldโve moved on. But it was so close to the official, so I think the official heard what he said. It got blown out of proportion.โ
James also tried to put things in perspective, albeit snarkily.
โThe difference: Weโre on the court so weโre not having any alcoholic beverages. It made them feel a little tougher than they already are,โ said James, who finished with 21 points, seven rebounds, and nine assists.
The four-time MVP, however, said he's happy to see fans in the venue.
โI miss that interaction. I need that interaction,โ said James. โI donโt feel like they were warranted to get kicked out. There was a back and forth between two grown men. They had a couple of drinks, maybe.โ
"I miss that interaction. I need that interaction." @KingJames discusses the courtside hecklers tonight in Atlanta. ๐คทโโ๏ธ pic.twitter.com/CkfNSwOudn
โ Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) February 2, 2021
So, who exactly were the culprits in the front row?
The so-called โCourtside Karenโ is Juliana Carlos, an Atlanta/Miami-based Instagram influencer who mostly posts thirst traps, stories of lavish travels, and unboxings of designer clothes and beauty products. She also has a cosmetics-themed YouTube channel with 222 subscribers.
richard jefferson is doing lebron dirty by liking all of courtside karenโs pics on instagram pic.twitter.com/Je4Ogyo7tX
โ buckets (@buckets) February 2, 2021
Her husband is Chris โDaddyโ Carlos, a partner at Republic National Distributing Company (RNDC), a wine and spirits distributor, who counts zoos as one of his main philanthropic causes (you know, the places where animals are unnaturally kept in captivity).
He is also a supporter of former United States President Donald Trump and a pro-Confederate flag conspiracy theorist (and, apparently, quite the fisherman who met a confused George Clooney once, so good for him).
ย
View this post on Instagramย
After getting ejected, Juliana shared her account of her courageous and tipsy stand on behalf of โDaddy.โ
โJust got kicked out of the game to for talking sh*t to LeBron James for talking sh*t to my f*cking husband. This is such f*cking bullsh*t. Listen, let me tell you, LeBron James looked at my husband during the game and cussed him out. And I stood up and I go, โDonโt f*cking talk to my husband! Talk to my husband one more time and I will f*ck you up!โ And he started fighting with me, he goes, โShut your mouth, dumb b*itch,โ and I go, โYou shut your f*cking mouth b*tch.โโ
The fan who got kicked from Hawks-Lakers got getting into it with LeBron James claims she was ejected for telling him she was going to 'f*ck him up' for staring down her husband. ๐ฟ๐ฟhttps://t.co/a0uITWSDAg
โ ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) February 2, 2021
She then confirmed James' theory that she may have not been at her soberest.
โChris has been a Hawks fan forever. Heโs been watching the games for 10 years, whatever. He has this issue with LeBron. I donโt have an issue with LeBron, I donโt give a f*ck about LeBron. Anyway, Iโm minding my own business, drinking my wine, having fun. All of a sudden, LeBron says something to my husband. And I see this, and I stand up and go, โDonโt f*cking talk to my husband!โ And he looks at me and he goes, โSit the f*ck down b*tch.โ And I go, โDonโt f*cking call me a b*tch, you sit the f*ck down. Get the f*ck out of here.โ And I go, โDonโt f*cking talk to my husband like that, donโt talk to my husband!' And he literally was like, โF*ck you b*tch, sit down b*tchโ. And all of a sudden now Iโm getting kicked out. Excuse me, I have courtside seats that I paid for. F*ck you LeBron, youโre a f*cking p*ssy, get the f*ck out of here. Youโre going to let a 25-year-old girl intimidate you during a game? Bye b*tch.โ
On the other hand, video evidence (including on her own IG story), literally disputes her paraphrasing of Jamesโ words. Furthermore, the mask-less โCourtside Karenโ is a COVID-19 denier, so maybe her grasp of reality is not particularly firm.
When they asked courtside Karen to put her mask on she said โweโve all had Covid, this is bullshit and you know itโ loooool https://t.co/XCVsanncfc
โ Gifdsports (@gifdsports) February 2, 2021
Bron really told her
โYo sit your ass down and shut the fuck upโ
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ pic.twitter.com/4ClEtRjn6D
โ ๐ฆ Lakers Vino (@VinoUncorked) February 2, 2021
Clearly, Juliana effectively intimidated the greatest player of his generation, who scored nine points in the final 1:30 to close out the win.
Juliana did offer some useful relationship advice after receiving some flak from the haterz.
โYo, I truly cannot fathom how whack some of you guys are. Like, I donโt know about you guys, but if my girl was at a game and someone was talking to me and my girl didnโt stand up for me, I would kind of reevaluate that relationship. So, for all you clowns saying โYouโre wifeโs a gold diggerโ, guess what? If I was a gold digger, I would sit back and mind my own f*cking beeswax. And I wouldnโt open my mouth. But guess what? Iโm not a gold digger, thatโs my husband, I love him. And if someone disrespects him, I will check him. Whether itโs LeBron James or a f*cking bum on the street.โ
There does seem to be one element of truth to her words: โDaddy'sโ dislike of James. Four years ago, he shared these utterly charming posts after sitting courtside at a Cleveland Cavaliers game.
ย
View this post on Instagramย
ย
View this post on Instagramย
(Hmm. I wonder what could bother him about James?)
Despite the viral attention, The King and the Lakers seem to be in better spirits than the Carloses after the game (and probably in better spirits than whatever โDaddyโ distributes).
Courtside Karen was MAD MAD!! ๐คฃ๐คฃ๐คฃ๐คฃ๐คฃ๐คฃ๐คฃ
โ LeBron James (@KingJames) February 2, 2021
โOne little incident is not going to change the fact that we love having fans at the game,โ said Anthony Davis. โI just saw โBron talking to a guy courtside and him talking back. I heard her mask was off to speak, and with COVID going on you obviously can't have that. Sh*t happens.โ
โYou obviously canโt have fans taking their masks down and shouting at our players during these times,โ added Lakers coach Frank Vogel.
On the floor, the Lakers played about even with the frisky Hawks for three quarters until their defense iced the game in the closing minutes.
Davis provided ample support to James with 25 points, while Harrell had his most efficient game of the season with 19 points on 8-of-9 field goals. For the fourth consecutive contest, Alex Caruso (+13) led the team in plus/minus.
The Lakers did a solid job containing Trae Young, who used enough deceptive tricks to earn 11 free throws on the way to 25 points and 16 assists but turned the ball over seven times. He was forced to give it up early and often with the hounding defense of Caruso, Dennis Schroder, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Young hit just one three-pointer.
The defending champions outscored the Hawks, 32-23 in the final frame to finish their season-long road swing with a record of 5-2.
#Lakers D dominates late, LA covers (-5.5) vs. #Hawks, 107-99.
Champs close out 7-game, 12-night road trip with 5-2 record, and only two instances of courtside fools motivating LeBron in 4th quarters
โ Michael Corvo (@michaelcorvo_) February 2, 2021
After the hard-fought win and nearly two weeks on the road, Jamesโlike โCourtside Karenโโwas in a wine mood.
โYou ainโt the only one,โ said LeBron when a reporter mentioned that he would have a drink tonight.
For some reason, there's a feeling that LeBron James' vino won't be courtesy of RNDC.



















