Erling Haaland accidentally became a basketball meme at the World Cup. During Norway's heartbreaking 2-1 extra-time loss to England, he perfectly recreated an iconic moment. It mirrored the legendary LeBron James reaction to J.R. Smith. The pose was so exact that it instantly went everywhere.
The trigger was a genuinely baffling teammate decision. With Norway up 1-0, Alexander Sørloth broke away on a clean 2-on-1 counter. Rather than sliding an easy pass to a wide-open Haaland for a tap-in, he took a selfish shot that missed. Haaland stood frozen, both arms extended, palms up in utter disbelief.
The internet pounced on the resemblance almost instantly. Fans across both football, basketball spliced screenshots of Haaland right beside the 2018 LeBron meme. The side-by-side match was genuinely uncanny, right down to the exasperated stare. Even NBA champion Josh Hart joined in, posting about it himself.
The original template is pure NBA history. It comes from the final seconds of Game 1 of the 2018 Finals, Cavaliers against Warriors. J.R. Smith grabbed an offensive rebound, then dribbled out the clock, wrongly thinking his team led. A furious LeBron struck the exact pose Haaland echoed eight years later.