James imitated the Brazil star’s celebration after winning gold at the Paris Olympics, obtaining a strong seal of approval.
After winning gold at the Paris Olympics, Team USA star LeBron James did a celebration that replicated one of Brazil star Neymar’s signature celebrations.
Having beaten hosts France 98-87 in the gold medal game, James secured the third gold of his Olympic career. After receiving his medal, he raised up his hands close to his ears and started folding them in a back-and-forth motion.
This imitated the celebration of soccer star Neymar, who enacts it whenever he scores a goal during a game. One of his recent moments performing the celebration was against Bolivia last September in a 5-1 victory, when he memorably passed the legendary Pele for most goals scored for the Brazilian men’s national team.
Neymar was watching the Olympics on Saturday as he witnessed James perfectly imitate his celebration in Paris, providing a three-word reaction in a story post on Instagram.
Neymar reacts to LeBron James performing his signature celebration on Instagram.
“U deserve King,” Neymar said while tagging James’ account.
Neymar is near the final stages of recovering from a torn ACL he suffered last October in a 2026 World Cup qualifier against Uruguay, gearing up for a likely return on the pitch with his club Al-Hilal in September.
Even though he has been sidelined for almost a year, Neymar can be happy knowing that his influence in the sports world remains strong as ever. And with James replicating his signature celebration after winning gold, it is not going away anytime soon.