Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James. William Liang-Imagn Images

Lakers' LeBron James credits enthusiastic young fan for overtime win over Nuggets

By Clark Dalton | Last updated Mar 15, 2026 1:51 PM ET

Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic drilled a game-winning jumper in a 127-125 home overtime victory over the Denver Nuggets on Saturday, but that wasn't the matchup's best moment.

Earlier, a young spectator wearing a Shaquille O'Neal jersey was named fan of the game. The Jumbotron at Crypto.com Arena captured him reacting to the nomination. He began bouncing off the walls, so imagine how excited he must have been after Doncic nailed the clutch jumper.

"Legend," The Athletic's Dan Woike wrote of the fan on X.

Woike wasn't the only one who took notice. Lakers forward LeBron James gave him a shout-out in his postgame news conference.

LeBron James reacts to young fan on Jumbotron

"That little kid on the jumbotron was ... he's the reason we won tonight," James said, who scored 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field.

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Perhaps the young fan's enthusiasm rubbed off on others in Crypto.com Arena. Doncic, who scored 30 points on 10-of-26 shooting from the field, noted the venue felt more electric than usual in his postgame news conference.

"I felt like it was the best atmosphere since I've been a Laker," the guard said. "The whole crowd was into it and was really special to witness that."

LUKA HITS THE GO-AHEAD JUMPER TO WIN IT FOR THE LAKERS IN OT pic.twitter.com/CIkuCBvExv
— NBA (@NBA) March 15, 2026

Los Angeles (42-25) has now won five straight games. It'll aim to keep rolling in a road matchup against the Houston Rockets (41-25) on Monday night (9:30 p.m. ET, NBC/Peacock).

If the Lakers beat the Rockets, that increases their chances of clinching the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference Playoffs. The team must seize that opportunity as it has 15 regular-season games remaining. Los Angeles will keep putting a smile on that young fan's face if it secures one of the top spots in the conference.

Clark Dalton

Dalton is a 2022 journalism graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. He gained experience in sports media over the past seven years — from live broadcasting and creating short films to podcasting and producing. In college, he wrote for The Daily Texan. He loves sports and enjoys hiking, kayaking and camping.

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