In his heyday as an NBA star, Richard Jefferson played in front of the biggest stars of his era. Jefferson, however, has drawn flak for omitting the name of a certain A-lister who was in attendance for Game 3 of the Knicks-Cavs series.
As the game went underway at Rocket Arena, social media buzzed at the sight of pop superstar Taylor Swift and her fiancé Travis Kelce at courtside. Notably, Jefferson and his ESPN broadcast partner Mike Breen decided to kid around with Swift’s popularity. When the camera showed the power couple watching the game, both Jefferson and Breen chose to mention Kelce by name but not Swift, as if to understate her prominence.
“Travis Kelce and his fiancée here at the game,” Breen said. Jefferson echoed this by saying, “Travis and his girlfriend are in the building. Always great to see.”
Though Richard Jefferson was evidently fooling around, as he joked about receiving an invitation to Swift and Kelce’s upcoming wedding, fans were not thrilled that he omitted the name of the “Opalite” singer.
“Swifties, Richard Jefferson just called her “Travis Kelce’s girlfriend.” Safe to say we need a campaign to make sure he doesn’t call another game again”
“Fragile men being scared of Taylor Swift lmaooo”
“Acting like Travis is the biggest name in that building”
“Richard Jefferson approaching dangerous territory not saying her name on this broadcast. ‘Travis Kelce girlfriend’ can only go so far before her fanbase in his mentions for the rest of the year.”
“Is ‘Taylor swift’ a banned word on espn/ABC?”
“shes the star there and they still lead with him”
In all likelihood, Swift and Kelce were at the event to extend support to the Cavaliers, as the San Francisco 49ers tight end is a Cleveland Heights native.
However, the endgame did not turn out to be a pleasant sight for Cavs fans, as the Knicks ultimately pulled away down the stretch. On the strength of Jalen Brunson’s latest 30-piece and strong performances from his supporting crew, the Knicks won 121-108 to build a formidable 3-0 series lead.
“The Cavs Stopped Playing”: Richard Jefferson and Mike Breen Slam Cavs’ Lack of Effort in Crunchtime of Game 3
Richard Jefferson may have been in a humorous mood as the cameras showed Taylor Swift, but he was dead serious when he criticized the Cavaliers down the stretch.
In the last two minutes of regulation, Jalen Brunson scored on a layup with no resistance at all from the Cavs, who found themselves down 118-102. Seeing this, Mike Breen and RJ openly decried Cleveland’s lack of effort.
“The Cavs just stopped playing on that possession,” Breen said. Jefferson added, “They stopped playing the possession before that.”
No team has climbed out of a 0-3 hole in an NBA playoff series, but the Cavaliers will still have to put in the effort when the Knicks go for the kill in Game 4.
