SI

An NBA Referee Hit LeBron’s Iconic ‘Shrug’ Celebration After Taking an Unexpected Hit

Refs can be entertainers too.

Kyle Koster

Referee Sha’Rae Mitchell (98) gestures during the fourth quarter of the game between the Sacramento Kings and the Utah Jazz at Golden 1 Center.
Referee Sha’Rae Mitchell (98) gestures during the fourth quarter of the game between the Sacramento Kings and the Utah Jazz at Golden 1 Center. / Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images
In this story:

NBA referees can be very funny. It's the endearing legacy of Billy Crystal's Forget Paris. It's just that they have never been under a more powerful microscope, and social media is not particularly kind to them, so they need to affect a steely exterior.

During Friday night's Los Angeles Lakers-Los Angeles Clippers tilt, Sha’Rae Mitchell broke character after getting drilled by a deflected James Vanderbilt pass by striking a LeBron James-approved power shrug.

It was a humorous moment and ESPN's social team cooked up some music to make it really pop.

More of this!

Refs showing more personality should definitely be a thing. And perhaps it's becoming a thing as on the same night Bill Kennedy allowed himself to be cracked up by Jalen Brunson during a video review explanation.

More of the Latest Around the NBA

feed

Published
Kyle Koster
KYLE KOSTER

Kyle Koster is an assistant managing editor at Sports Illustrated covering the intersection of sports and media. He was formerly the editor in chief of The Big Lead, where he worked from 2011 to '24. Koster also did turns at the Chicago Sun-Times, where he created the Sports Pros(e) blog, and at Woven Digital.

Home/NBA