LeBron James — the most famous basketball player in the world — has become one of TikTok’s latest genres of music. Yes, genre.
People are editing popular songs to be about the NBA star, and those remixes are everywhere on TikTok. And they are so. Freaking. Catchy. The songs are endless, with remixes of “I Kissed a Girl” (“I Kissed LeBron“), “Talking to the Moon” (“Thinking ’bout LeBron“), and “Somebody That I Used to Know” (“The LeBron That I Used to Know“), among so many others.
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In my personal opinion — which seems to be backed by its prevalence — one remix outdoes them all. It’s a play on Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror” that tells the story of the Los Angeles Lakers adding superstar Luka Doncic to play alongside James. And it’s so damn good.
Over the past few days, I’ve detached from my corporeal frame, instead existing in the ether, wandering the halls and musically muttering: His name is leBRON JAMES! I’m talkin’ ’bout the man on the LAKERS! LeeeeeBRON.
It jangles about in my mind like a ping-pong ditty. It is my internal soundtrack. In other words, it’s catchy as all hell.
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In all seriousness, remixing LeBron songs has become a TikTok trend in and of itself—not a single LeBron song, but the idea that any song can and should be a LeBron song. There are so many remixes that people are ranking their Top 5.
Like any other trend, folks put their own spin on it. Some folks use a song to post a meme. Some use them to post in-game highlights — oftentimes hiding the fact that it’s a LeBron edit until the TikTok suddenly transfers to NBA action. Others just post the song itself.
Or there’s something like this post, which isn’t a song edit but a massively viral (43 million views) LeBron edit.
There are so many reasons why LeBron’s songs are going viral. To name a few:
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The Lakers were just on the winning end of the most shocking trade in NBA history.
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People are using LeBron songs to argue the GOAT debate — James vs. Michael Jordan — and that argument is endlessly engaging for sports fans.
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We’ve escaped critical velocity where everyone feels like they have to post a LeBron edit.
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LeBron’s name is really fun to sing.
If the songs are already getting on your nerves, brace yourself: The NBA playoffs don’t start until mid-April, and the Lakers could be poised to make a deep run.
