One of the most consistent sights at a Los Angeles Lakers game is an A-list celebrity sitting courtside. Many are familiar with Jack Nicholson, but even when he isn’t in attendance, there is always someone famous there to watch LeBron James, Luka Doncic and company play in the purple and gold.
That has been especially true whenever the Lakers have had a bona fide superstar like LeBron. When the Lakers are good, their games are a high-status event. That remained the case on Thursday night, when the Lakers finally returned home from a long road trip to face the Philadelphia 76ers.
Thursday marked L.A.’s first game at Crypto.com Arena since Jan. 18, and none other than Denzel Washington was in attendance. And right in the middle of the game, Washington walked across the court up to LeBron to say a quick hello as the Lakers were getting ready to take the floor, via AsaadKamal:
LOL I was like where is Denzel going 😭 @KingJames pic.twitter.com/gYPln2XQdK
— Asaad (@asaadkamal) February 6, 2026
Washington is the type of A-list celebrity that can walk directly up to James on the Lakers during a game and say hello without anyone trying to stop him. LeBron was also happy to see the superstar actor and get a quick greeting in before the winning effort against Philadelphia.
It wasn’t James’ best game after. He had 17 points, four rebounds and 10 assists on 7-of-17 from the field in the close victory. But he did get this fun moment with one of the world’s most recognizable entertainers.
Austin Reaves leads Lakers to comeback win
Austin Reaves entered the night on a minutes restriction for the Lakers, coming off of a calf strain that sidelined him for about six weeks. It would have been hard to tell based on how Reaves played in a massive comeback win for the Lakers.
He played 25 minutes, but dropped 35 points on a highly-efficient 12-for-17 from the field and 5-of-8 from three, helping to lead the Lakers to the win after Luka Doncic was ruled out for the game in the second quarter with leg soreness. The performance was a reminder of just how phenomenal a season Reaves was having before suffering the calf injury, and how he easily would have been on the All-Star team had he remained healthy.
The Lakers moved to 31-19 with the win, good enough for fifth in the Western Conference standings through 50 games of the season.
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