LeBron James Scores More Points When Certain Celebrities Show Up To Watch Him Play

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When LeBron James first entered the NBA, he was an absolute godsend for all of the shitty teams in the league who could finally give fans a reason to pay for a ticket when the Cavaliers came into town. He continues to be a draw fifteen years after the start of his professional career, and it seems like the superstar has a special knack for attracting celebrities who are even more famous than he is and getting them to shell out for courtside seats.

If you’ve ever seen a movie where an athlete can’t concentrate on a game because he’s too busy checking the bleachers over and over again to see if his dad showed up after he promised he would even though he told himself he wouldn’t get his hopes up only to be let down yet again, you’re well aware the impact someone’s presence in the stands can have on a player’s performance. It turns out this is quantifiably true based on an exhaustive study by Justin Tinsley, who did some Pulitzer Prize-worthy journalism for The Undefeated to see if James (who has a career average of 27.1 PPG) puts up more points when certain celebrities are in attendance.

James is at his best when Diddy is in the crowd, with the iconic duo of Jay-Z and Beyoncé having the second-biggest impact on his game (he plays better than average when either of them shows up on their own, but there appears to be something special in the air when they’re both in attendance).

Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough data to see how much better James plays when Josh Duhamel is in the house.