Sydney Sweeney hijacks Lakers game with bodywash commercial catching fans off-guard

NBA TV broadcasts commercial featuring Hollywood star Sydney Sweeney in between Los Angeles Lakers preseason game.

Sydney Sweeney hijacks Lakers game with bodywash commercial catching fans off-guard

Sydney Sweeney was the unexpected star of the Los Angeles Lakers preseason game thanks to NBA TV

The 2024 NBA season has officially started for the Los Angeles Lakers. It was their first preseason game today where most of their players got a chance to run a few plays. LeBron James and Anthony Davis did not play, but James’ son Bronny James made his preseason debut. In what would be a test of how the schemes under new head coach JJ Redick, fans saw Hollywood star Sydney Sweeney steal the spotlight.

If she was courtside along with other stars, she would have been shown on the jumbotron whenever there was a break in the play. Even then she would have made every fan stare at the scene as the actress has become a fan favorite. But it was something more bizarre, as the star was not at the Crypto.com arena for the game. Instead, while the first quarter of the preseason game between the Lakers and the Minnesota Timberwolves was going on, the telecast shifted to show a commercial.

YouTube video

The commercial, all thirty seconds of it, played showing Sydney Sweeney portraying the role of a ‘body wash genie’ for Dr. Squatch men’s body wash. When the broadcast returned from the commercial, announcers Bill Macdonald and Stu Lantz were talking about LeBron James and Bronny James.

FS Video

It seems it was the work of the producers in the studio or back in their network base who ran the commercial mid game. Networks generally reserve commercials for timeouts and other breaks.

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Fans blindsided by Sydney Sweeney commercial

Fans watching the game were focused on how Bronny James or the other Los Angeles Lakers players fared. In fact, prior to the commercial, the Minnesota Timberwolves were in the midst of running a play. When the commercial ended, it showed Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert at the free throw line.

Fans missed thirty seconds of game footage. It sure was a preseason game where teams take it easy. But even then, no broadcaster or company should run a commercial when the game is in session, that too on the league run NBA TV. More importantly, a lot more people were watching the younger James take to the court than the Summer League. Fans left blindsided, dropped some comments on social media:

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It was actually fortunate that the game was on NBA TV and only a preseason matchup. Had this occurred during the regular season, it could have drawn significant negative attention. With viewership already on the decline, the production crew needs to ensure this remains a one-off situation.