Look, it’s LeBron! Rittenhouse Square is the scene of Philly’s latest lookalike competition
The hilarious contest ended in a three-way tie between Martin, Brown, and Fisher. Each received their own unique prize.
A smattering of LeBrons, and one white guy in a LeBron jersey that host Jamir Griffin referred to exclusively as J.J. Redick, gathered at Rittenhouse Square in front of a crowd of a few hundred spectators and Sixers fans for the latest lookalike competition.
The assembled LeBrons competed in a variety of different challenges, including James’ signature chalk toss, who had the most LeBron-like hairline, and who had the best hops, whittling down the group as he went.
One LeBron, Hannah Russo, emulated one of James’ early career GQ photoshoots.
“We love this photo; we send it back and forth,” Russo, 25, from Center City. “My boyfriend has a whole folder of LeBron memes on his phone. He loves LeBron. I’m grateful to him for passing his love of LeBron onto me.”
Her boyfriend, who competed in a standard James 23 jersey, was initially supposed to wear the get-up, but after he got dressed in his standard LeBron jersey, she decided she’d also throw her hat in the ring.
Nicknamed “Art School LeBron,” she was initially eliminated in the second round, but after fan outcry, returned to the competition. Russo and her boyfriend hit the LeBron-Joel Embiid handshake to celebrate her reinstatement.
“That is the beauty of the democratic system,” Russo said. “It’s a very ‘if you know, you know’ type of thing, and the people knew.”
One LeBron, dressed in a Lakers LeBron jersey and a king’s robe, was eliminated after being asked to demonstrate a flop because “LeBron is not a flopper.” He told the crowd he was not a Sixers fan but a LeBron fan, which resulted in loud boos.
The host winnowed the contestant pool down to two final LeBrons, Kenneth Martin from South Philly and Malik Fisher from Germantown, and put the two LeBrons to the test in a dribbling challenge. Martin easily won the dribbling challenge, and it looked like he was about to be crowned the winner of the competition, until a new contender emerged.
Periodically throughout the multi-stage competition, new LeBrons would join the lineup, including a bald-capped LeBron. One final LeBron, Chad Brown, arrived at 1:45, just as the host was crowning the winners. He dressed in a suit, emulating one of James’ most famous press conference moments.
He started dribbling the ball, but it didn’t look like he had a shot at beating Martin, until Brown insisted someone come and play defense on him. One of the other LeBrons squared up, and Brown easily crossed him out of his sneakers.
Ultimately, the contest ended in a three-way tie, between Martin, Brown, and Fisher. Each received their own unique prize, and so did the other entrants, sourced from South Philly vintage store Forbidden Closets.
Griffin, who hosted the event and the Jason Kelce lookalike contest years ago, hosts numerous events in the area to raise money for charity, for progressive political causes, and to bring people together, he said, and to put some of his favorite small businesses in the spotlight. As soon as James signed in Philadelphia, it felt like the perfect fit for the next lookalike contest.
“They’re easy ways to bring people together,” Griffin said. “People make friends, people connect.”
Despite what some might have described as a robbery, Martin had a blast. “The crowd, they just wanted to give everybody a little love, but their hearts were for me,” Martin said.
The charter school dance teacher found out about the event through a co-worker, who told him he looked a lot like James, and should give it a shot. He came straight from the barber shop so that his shave would look good for the contest, but he didn’t expect all the extra stuff.
“I didn’t know we were going to be jumping and falling down and all the things, which was fun though,” Martin said. “I’m not mad. I like the pivot, but it caught me by surprise, man.”
