This female referee is going viral for impersonating LeBron James at Lakers vs Clippers game

NBA referee Sha'Rae Mitchell has been making the headlines lately for her recent LeBron James impression at Clippers matchup.

This female referee is going viral for impersonating LeBron James at Lakers vs Clippers game

LeBron James and Sha'Rae Mitchell

The NBA isn’t always just about the players. The focus is also on the referees. In the league, there isn’t a day that passes without a player or head coach griping about the referee’s calls. However, referees rarely steal the show, and Wednesday was one of those occasions. During a live game, Sha’Rae Mitchell, the rookie referee, made an impression on LeBron James.

The Los Angeles Lakers hosted the LA Clippers on Wednesday night as they have been tightening their belt since the Luka Doncic trade. The NBA community saw Mitchell’s unexpected response during the tight matchup. She drew out the shoulder shrug that LeBron James frequently makes when he scores a basket and gets past a wall of defenders.

YouTube video

Following that spontaneous response, Mitchell brought the world’s attention towards herself. Jarred Vanderbilt‘s poor pass was deflected by Nicolas Batum at the three-minute mark of the first quarter, and it unexpectedly struck the referee.

FS Video

She handled the situation gracefully, garnering immense reactions from NBA fans. This season, Sha’Rae Mitchell became the 15th female NBA referee to join the crew full-time.

The 39-year-old Social media sensation had to endure a lengthy path in the league to receive the accolade before refereeing in her first-ever NBA season. She worked for the WNBA, G-League and even the college circuit as a non-staff official.

JJ Redick was full of praise for his star, LeBron James, after Mavericks’ win

Luka Doncic‘s arrival has relieved LeBron James of a significant portion of the offensive burden. He has thus appeared much more energized over the past few weeks, and he has converted that into playing defense with greater vigor. The Lakers’ matchup against the Dallas Mavericks earlier this week was a clear example of that. So much so, Lakers HC JJ Redick took out time to praise his star.

LeBron’s playing at an All-NBA defense level. … People may have perception of what he is as a defender. I watch it every day. … I think there was this perception of him at this age conserving energy, there’s no conserving energy on that end of the floor.

JJ Redick said

From 2009 to 2013, the NBA named James to the All-Defensive First Team five times. In 2014, they selected him to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team just once. It’s evident that James still can have an impact on the game defensively, even though he received this accolade earlier in his career. That said, it remains to be seen how James performs at defense going forward into the season.