Young Fan Shocked When LeBron James Sat Next To Her Courtside: 'The Best Moment Of My Life'

A young fan ended up having the best seat at the LA Lakers vs. Golden State Warriors game Saturday night. With an empty seat next to her, literally anyone could have occupied that seat, but when NBA star LeBron James sat down, 12-year-old Gaia's reaction said it all.

While James was inactive for the game due to a minor injury, he attended and sat courtside, to the surprise of a very happy fan who was sitting courtside with her brother. When James sat next to Gaia, her facial expression said everything anyone needed to know about how she was feeling. Her eyes grew wide and her mouth dropped open as she looked as shocked as if she's seen a ghost.

With the amount of shock she was experiencing, she didn't say a word to the NBA star, and after a video of the moment quickly went viral, ESPN's Lisa Salters interviewed the excited fan as she still sat next to James.

When Salters asked what she was feeling when James sat next to her, Gaia explained that she's had tickets to the game for more than three months in the hopes that maybe this would be the game James broke the record. And while he ended up breaking the scoring record last week, she was still excited for the game and the chance to see James in action.

"When I heard he had a foot injury, I was sad, and we didn't know if he was traveling with the team to this game or not. When he ended up sitting down here, I'm not as tall as him obviously so I could only see like his shoes, and then I look up and I see LeBron James," she said.

"And what's going through my mind is like, oh my God, the greatest player of all time in basketball is sitting next to me. I just freak out completely. I'm just thinking, oh my goodness this is like the best moment of my life."

The interview happened while Gaia was sitting in her courtside seats, and James was still sitting right next to her oblivious to what's happening to his left. Salters also asked Gaia if she spoke to James at all.

"No, not really. I've been asked to not distract the players," she said. She was then asked what she would say to him if she could. "I mean, my friends have been like get me an autograph already and I'm like I can't really do that, but if I could say something to him I would say hi and ask how are you," she said. "What's going in my mind right now is this is incredible, it's such an amazing moment."

After the game, Gaia had her moment to talk to James and get a photo with him. And to make this experience that much better for the young fan who's not likely to ever forget this day, James also posted about it on his Instagram Story.