Apr 30, 2025: Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) controls the ball against the Minnesota Timberwolves during the second half in game five of first round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Lakers’ LeBron James Cheats While Picking Top 4 Favorite Movies

Originally posted on Los Angeles Lakers on SI
By Alex Kirschenbaum | Last updated Sep 5, 2025 6:00 PM ET

21-time All-NBA Los Angeles Lakers power forward LeBron James is known for (mild) controversies.

He has often stirred the pot when it comes to passive-aggressive swipes at teammates on social media or via traditional platforms, he has left multiple franchises smarting with some surprise free agency departures, and his prolonged greatness has led to ferocious debates across the basketball world about just where he stands among the NBA's all-timers.

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Now, with his latest take, he has made a semi-cinematic controversy, picking five movies for his Letterboxd "Four Favorites" along with movie and standup superstar Kevin Hart, via DraftKings.

Four Favorites with four-time NBA champion LeBron James and actor/comedian Kevin Hart @KingJames @KevinHart4real

Courtesy of @DraftKings pic.twitter.com/sQqgWQIIre
— Letterboxd (@letterboxd) September 1, 2025

"I'm going with Goodfellas, Coming To America, Gladiator and The Godfather I and II together," James said. "Classics."

In fairness, many of the celebrities polled — generally filmmakers, but occasionally other celebrities, as is the case here — often try to sneak in a bonus movie.

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The Godfather II is often paired with the first film as one "piece" of filmmaking, although it is a true sequel, filmed two years after its predecessor. So, again, this is barely cheating.

Francis Ford Coppola's masterpiece (he had two last year, the other being the paranoid Gene Hackman thriller The Conversation) was the first sequel ever to win the Best Picture Academy Award, and is historically still only one of two to have earned that honor (along with The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King).

James The Cinephile

James' list highlights a diverse array of films, with some mafia movie classics joining an uproarious Eddie Murphy comedy and a Best Picture-winning sword-and-sandals Ridley Scott action adventure.

Hart, clearly not a huge fan of the exercise, picked four Kevin Hart films.

James has had some limited forays into filmmaking. As an actor, James has appeared in the Amy Schumer-Bill Hader rom-com Trainwreck, the animated flick Smallfoot, the lega-sequel Space Jam: A New Legacy, and the 2023 House Party remake.

James also been an executive producer on film projects since the 2008 documentary covering his high school years, More Than A Game. He has prioritized making movies (and TV shows and miniseries) centered around sports. Among his best-regarded flicks in that capacity are the Adam Sandler NBA scouting drama Hustle, plus the documentaries A Radical Act: Rene Montgomery and Rez Ball.