By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
After spotting LeBron James, a few fans of Real Madrid started yelling “Michael Jordan better”, as noted by Madrid Zone in the aftermath of the 2022 UEFA Champions League Final.
Despite not being present, Luka Doncic as a former Real Madrid player was on the happy end of the game. “It’s so nice to be a Real Madrid fan,” he wrote in a Twitter post. After falling narrowly short in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four championship game versus Anadolu Efes, the soccer division of Real Madrid secured the win and 14th title in team history behind a 1-0 win.
James, 37, was in attendance supporting Liverpool. Apart from watching the Spanish club based in Madrid prevail in State de France, he was also on the receiving end of the trolling chants favoring MJ in the ceaseless GOAT discussion, presumably to get in his head. Other fans rushed to instead take pictures of him in the stands.
Adding to the NBA presence, Kevin Love was in Paris to watch the game as well. The former teammates became part of the first UCL Final played in front of full attendance since the 2019 Final. The COVID-19 pandemic forced restricted attendance over the last couple of years.
Both have been going through an extended offseason after the Los Angeles Lakers and Cleveland Cavaliers were eliminated from the 2022 NBA Playoffs. The Lakers were knocked out at the end of the Regular Season and the Cavs exited a little while later losing to the Atlanta Hawks in the Play-In game for the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference bracket.
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