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LILLE, France — The fan sporting a crisp yellow #23 Lakers jersey walked down Rue du Molinet, the cobblestoned concourse in the heart of Lille, eyes scanning the candy shops and kebab joints. When he spotted what he was looking for, he pointed to a fan sitting outside a fast-food stir-fry restaurant and shouted, in a thick accent, “LEBRON JAMES!”
The second fan — wearing his own #23 jersey, this one a rich, royal purple — shouted back, in an equally thick but entirely distinct accent, “LEBRON JAMES!” A couple fist-pumps, and then they went their separate ways, bonded by a love of the NBA’s all-time scoring champion and GOAT contender.
They were there in Lille to see James and the rest of the U.S. men’s basketball team play Serbia, and they were two of hundreds — maybe thousands — of international NBA fans sporting the jerseys of their favorite players.
For American fans raised on the NBA, seeing the spectrum of jerseys at an international NBA game is like a parade of Remember Some Guys. You might see a Vince Carter ‘90s-era Raptors jersey (the one with the dribbling dinosaur), or a Tracy McGrady Orlando Magic one, or a Dominique Wilkins ‘80s-era Hawks jersey, or the full rainbow of Shaq’s teams.
Outside of James, Steph Curry is the most popular jersey, with fans in Lille sporting every variant of the City Edition jerseys in addition to the standard Golden State home and away models. As you’d expect for the Olympics, there’s a cornucopia of Team USA jerseys; it’s just a question of whether you want to rep JORDAN, or BIRD, or BRYANT or IVERSON in the red, white & blue.
Like their American counterparts, international NBA fans are knowledgeable, up to date on all the gossip, behind-the-scenes drama and prevailing narratives that often overshadow the actual games. The fans in Lille gave Kevin Durant the appropriate welcome for his first game action since the playoffs, and ripped Joel Embiid, who decided to play for the United States rather than France.
This is, in every possible way, the culmination of the NBA’s decades-long effort to make its game a truly international one. From the Avengers-caliber 1992 Dream Team to the constant goodwill tours to the current crop of international stars (Nikola Jokić, Embiid, Luka Doncic, Victor Wembanyama) to the sheer ineffable coolness that transcends borders, the NBA appeals to overseas fans, and the numbers show it.
More than 75 percent of the league’s social media followers are from outside the United States, and the NBA is already scheduling big stars in afternoon weekend games to take advantage of those international viewing windows. The proof is literally in the streets.
The players are noticing, too. “I looked around, I see so many different NBA jerseys in the stands,” Durant said in Pierre-Mauroy Stadium after Sunday's win over Serbia. “I just love when we’re getting people from all over the world, different walks of life, together like this.”
One final thought: The NBA’s overseas jersey domination is impressive, but it’s not yet complete. Right now, the fandom is earnest and unironic. How will we know that the NBA has won? When international fans start sporting stars on their most obscure teams — Patrick Ewing on the Sonics, Hakeem Olajuwon on the Raptors, Rasheed Wallace on the Hawks — then the NBA will be an unstoppable global force. The final stage of fandom is the deep-cut in-joke, and international fans are well on their way to getting in on it.
Daniel Weinman was crowned winner of the 2023 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event on Monday, taking home a record breaking $12.1 million in winnings. Weinman had to outlast the other 10,043 entrants to take home the prize and get his hands on his share of live poker’s largest ever prize pool – a staggering $93,399,900. As well as taking home the prize money, 35-year-old Weinman also got his hands on the WSOP Main Event bracelet. The huge bracelet contains 500 grams of 10-karat yellow gold, as well as 2,352 various precious gemstones.
Daniel Weinman won the World Series of Poker's main event world championship on Monday in Las Vegas, earning $12.1 million along the way. Playing in the tournament for a 16th year, Weinman was tops in a deep pool of 10,043 players vying for $93.39 million. His victory came after just 164 hands at the final table. "I was honestly on the fence about even coming back and playing this tournament," the 35-year-old Atlanta native told reporters afterward. Weinman's final table featured Jan-Peter Jachtmann, who landed in fourth place and took home $3 million, as well as Toby Lewis, who finished seventh and secured $1.42 million. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the main event's entry pool far outpaced the previous record of 8,773 set in 2006. "I've always kind of felt that poker was kind of going in a dying direction, but to see the numbers at the World Series this year has been incredible," Weinman said. "And to win this main event, it doesn't feel real. I mean, [there's] so much luck in a poker tournament. I thought I played very well." Steven Jones finished second, securing $6.5 million. And Adam Walton settled for third and a $4 million prize.
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