The LeBron James "You Are My Sunshine" Meme Explained
Did the arena really sing a song, in unison, to the modern-day GOAT, bringing a TikTok meme to life?
Published April 4 2024, 2:56 p.m. ET
Lebron James is the GOAT. Or GOAT runner-up if you grew up watching Michael Jordan. Or the GOAT runner-up-runner-up if you’re a Lakers fan and think Kobe is the GOAT (he’s not). Regardless of your thoughts about who the greatest of all time actually is, if you're on basketball TikTok, you're probably familiar with the LeBron James "You Are My Sunshine" meme. You may have seen it more since the Los Angeles Lakers' March 31, 2024 game.
Lebron James is continuing to set records. He recently scored 40 in a Los Angeles Lakers victory over the Brooklyn Nets. ESPN points out, “James scored 40 points in L.A.'s 116-104 win over the Brooklyn Nets on [March 31], joining Michael Jordan as the only players in NBA history with multiple games of 40 points or more after turning 39. James now has done it twice; Jordan, who played until he was 40, did it three times.”
The LeBron James "You Are My Sunshine" meme explained...
After LeBron scored 40 points in Brooklyn, some TikTok videos show the crowd singing “You Are My Sunshine” to the superstar. It appears that a meme that began in January 2023 has blossomed into reality over a year later.
LeBron lovers and haters are passionate. Most every superstar has passionate fans. But maybe none inspire more meme-worthy content than Bron. The current singing of “You Are My Sunshine” began last year. Kind of.
According to Know Your Meme, “Back in January 2023, TikTokers began an ironic meme trend known as 'LeBron glazing' that mocks dedicated fans and defenders of NBA legend LeBron James for their seeming inability to criticize LeBron. The meme often sees users attach overly supportive captions over images or footage of LeBron, including captions that refer to him with nicknames like 'my glorious king LeBron.'"
This led to people making TikToks of "You Are My Sunshine" by Christina Perri over a press photo of LeBron and some gushing text. Some videos feature game footage, some distort the press photo, all feature a version of the children’s song.
Why are people singing "You Are My Sunshine"? In reality, the Nets crowd didn’t actually sing anything.
If you thought the TikTok meme coming to life might be too good to be true, you’re right. Commenter M.O.E points out, “It’s crazy how y'all don’t know this ain’t the real sound.” M.O.E. is right. It does appear that the majority of commenters in this video and other TikTok videos of the same event don’t realize it’s doctored.
If you were watching the game or the highlights, you might not have noticed an arena singing one of the most well-known songs of all time. Because it didn’t happen. The crowd did give him a standing ovation.
It’s inevitable a crowd will end up singing “You Are My Sunshine” to LeBron. Whether they’re doing it sincerely, ironically, or somewhere in between, it won’t matter. LeBron is the GOAT. Unless you saw Jordan.