Dave Portnoy is furious about LeBron James sipping a fan’s cup of wine, had no issue with his celebratory twerking

LeBron James took a sip of a fan’s wine in the third quarter of the Sixers’ 126-107 win over the Bulls on Monday, and Dave Portnoy has a problem with it.

Here is what happened. James chased a loose ball into the baseline seats with the Sixers up 11 and collided with a fan holding a cup of red wine. The fan was season-ticket holder Troy Clemons. He told ESPN’s Kris Rhim that James grabbed him, apologized, took the cup, sipped it and handed it back before running onto the court. The crowd at Xfinity Mobile Arena reacted loudly.

What LeBron James said about the wine

New angle of LeBron drinking wine mid game just dropped 😭 pic.twitter.com/We7De7q1T6

— BrickCenter (@BrickCenter_) November 3, 2026

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James told Rhim in the locker room that he spilled some of Clemons’ wine and wanted to know whether it was worth getting on his arm. His review was that it was all right.

Clemons said he was not starstruck and was not upset. He threw the cup away and got a fresh drink.

Dave Portnoy’s complaint about LeBron James

If anybody else did this they’d be checked into AA but because it’s Bron Bron Sportcenter will do an hour special on it. Who cares the example it sets for kids that you need to be drunk to play sports? pic.twitter.com/gKhF7SqyIa

— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) November 3, 2026

The man sees wine. He has no impulse control. He has to taste it in the middle of working. But nah he doesnt have a problem. He’s not screaming out for help. Im the crazy one. https://t.co/76SVRQXLqC

— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) November 3, 2026

Portnoy posted that anyone else who did this would be checked into AA, but SportsCenter will do an hour on it because it is LeBron. He closed by asking about the example it sets for kids.

The argument does not hold up. The fan who spilled the drink was fine with it. James apologized before he took the sip. He was out of bounds in the seats, and the sip was quick.

Dave’s complaints also have a consistency problem. In the fourth quarter, LeBron James hit an and-one fadeaway and celebrated by twerking, a new celebration for him, but one the fans in attendance seemed to really enjoy. That happened in the same game, on the same court, in front of the same crowd. I found no post from Portnoy objecting to it. If the concern is the example for kids, the twerk was on the same broadcast as the wine.

Personally, I think little ole Dave liked it. All that LeBron ass shaking up and down, it probably put Dave in a trance. And to fight this urge, he decided to lash out against the man he’s secretly in love with. Standard closeted behavior.

The NBA also did not fine James, according to NBC Sports Philadelphia. There is precedent. James pretended to drink a beer courtside in a 2017 playoff series against the Raptors, and the league did nothing. Mike Scott grabbed a fan’s drink at a 2019 game in Milwaukee and was not fined by the NBA or the Sixers, per Yahoo Sports.

Some fans did criticize James online, and others celebrated the moment. As for me, I didn’t care at all because the Sixers won. Simple as that.

The LeBron James moment fits the Sixers’ start

James finished with 15 points, seven rebounds and nine assists, and the Sixers moved to 7-1. He is 41 and in his first season in Philadelphia, and ESPN called this the most fun he has appeared to have since arriving.

That is the story from Monday night: a wine sip, a twerk and a 19-point win. Portnoy is treating the wine as a scandal.