2023-12-04 05:56:09
Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua is having a rookie season to remember. The fifth round pick out of BYU leads all rookies in receiving yards this season, and reached another milestone on Sunday in the team’s home game against the Cleveland Browns.
Nacua set the Rams all-time franchise record for receiving yards by a rookie when he caught a 12-yard pass from Matthew Stafford early in the first quarter.
Adding to the accomplishment, Nacua’s childhood idol, LeBron James, was in attendance to watch the record-breaking catch, and posted a congratulatory tweet for Nacua afterwards.
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Congrats Puka on breaking the team rookie record for receiving yards! ????????????????????????????????????????
— LeBron James (@KingJames) December 3, 2023
The two athletes have been sharing praise for each other throughout the year. Nacua has been on record calling James his favorite player and the unequivocal G.O.A.T. when it comes to the NBA.
James, a huge football fan, likes to post videos on his social media account every Sunday morning, breaking down his NFL picks. Earlier in the year, when talking about the Rams, he affectionately called the Rams’ rookie, “Puka Doncic,” a nickname created because of Dallas Mavericks superstar Luka Doncic.
“Kupp is coming back today, so now you got the dynamic duo, the two-headed monster with Cooper Kupp and Puka Doncic,” said James on his video post. “They call him Puka Doncic, man — got the most receptions for any receiver in NFL history during his first four games. And we also seeing that game with a touchdown he had last week, Matthew Stafford throwing that ball on a string.”
Nacua must have seen the video, because hours later he arrived at SoFi Stadium wearing a LeBron James Lakers jersey.
James and the Lakers are in Los Angeles this weekend after a long road trip. The Lakers defeated the Houston Rockets 107-97 on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena and will host the Phoenix Suns in the quarterfinals of the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament on Tuesday night.
James, the all-time NBA’s leading scorer, recently reached another career milestone when he surpassed Lakers’ legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the most minutes played (regular season and post season) at 66,297 minutes played. Ironically, both NBA legends were at SoFi Stadium to watch the Rams and Browns.
James, a Cleveland native, is a big Browns fan. He was formerly a fan of the Dallas Cowboys, but recently during a live viewing episode of Amazon Prime’s Thursday Night FootballJames confirmed he still supports his hometown team.
“I’m a Browns fan now. My hometown (has) been disgusting my whole life but we have hope every year,” said James.
James is a regular at Rams’ games, and was in attendance for the last two Super Bowls. Both the one the Rams won at SoFi Stadium in 2022, and last year in Glendale, Arizona when the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Philadelphia Eagles.
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