More than any league, the stars come out to watch the NBA. At an event with the magnitude of the Finals, it was hardly a surprise to see the likes of Jay-Z, Kevin Hart and Marshawn Lynch in prime seats on Thursday night in Oakland to watch the Warriors demolish the defending champion Cleveland Cavaliers.
But it was another known celebrity NBA superfan, Rihanna, who stole the show from the moment she stepped near the court.
First, she distracted announcer Jeff Van Gundy—during the dunk of the night, no less—by simply appearing in front of him as LeBron James posterized JaVale McGee.
https://twitter.com/sdbcraig/status/870455101978284032
Rihanna, supposedly a well-known LeBron James supporter, greeted “The King” with a bow before setting her sights on his Warriors counterpart, Kevin Durant, who was destroying the Cavs with 23 of his 38 points in the first half alone.
Throughout the night Durant and Rihanna feuded (in the loosest sense of the word) as the pop star tried her best to influence the game from her perch on the sidelines. Here, you can hear her shout “Brick!” prior to a Durant free throw (he makes the freebies, then appears to turn and stare her down).
Listen: Rihanna yells "BRIIIIIICK!!!" at Durant during free throw, he stares her down twice (h/t @tshent) pic.twitter.com/XYdFOv9mc3
— Rob Perez (@World_Wide_Wob) June 2, 2017
To add salt to the wounds, Durant appeared to make extra-long eye contact with her after hitting one of the more demoralizing shots in a game that featured plenty.
Durant finished with 38 points, eight rebounds, eight assists and zero turnovers, while doing things like this throughout the evening:
The team Rihanna was rooting for lost, but that didn’t seem to damper her spirits. “The King is still King, b****!” she proclaimed on her way out of Oracle arena.
Rihanna: "The King is still King, b—-!" via @rachelnmarcus pic.twitter.com/woA5DDP87y
— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) June 2, 2017
A fascinating turn of events.
Following the game, TMZ asked Durant about the mental battle with Rihanna. With some advice from teammate Steph Curry, he refused to acknowledge it ever existed.
Will Durant and Rihanna resume their feud then? Only time will tell…
Game 2 tips off Sunday night at 8 p.m. ET. That’s all for now.
