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Rui Hachimura Had Awesome Reaction Seeing Bruce Springsteen Courtside at Lakers Game

NBA players: they're just like us.

Patrick Andres

Rui Hachimura points before a game against the Rockets.
Rui Hachimura points before a game against the Rockets. / Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images
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You never know who you might run into playing for the Los Angeles Lakers, long a magnet for celebrities passing through the City of Angels.

It's plausible that you could tip a ball out of bounds and have it land in the waiting arms of musician Bruce Springsteen. Forward Jared Vanderbilt did just that Friday during the Lakers' 140–109 win over the Houston Rockets—but that wasn't the most memorable part of the episode.

While Los Angeles's TV announcers praised Springsteen's hands, the broadcast showed Lakers forward Rui Hachimura flipping out upon seeing "The Boss." Watch Hachimura's mouth fall open when someone points out Springsteen to him here.

Hachimura did not let the rocker down, proving it all night with 16 points and five rebounds in his team's runaway win.

As for the 75-year-old Springsteen, he'll head back out on tour next month with a 16-show jaunt through Europe, beginning in Manchester.

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Patrick Andres
PATRICK ANDRES

Patrick Andres is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He joined SI in December 2022, having worked for The Blade, Athlon Sports, Fear the Sword and Diamond Digest. Andres has covered everything from zero-attendance Big Ten basketball to a seven-overtime college football game. He is a graduate of Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism with a double major in history .

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