LEBRON James led every NBA player, coach and referee in kneeling during the national anthem on the league's first night back after the coronavirus shutdown.

The Lakers player said he hopes he did former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick "proud" after he led the movement on Thursday night.

Kaepernick sat or kneeled during the national anthem in the 2016/17 football season to highlight racial injustice in the US.

Before the Lakers v Clippers match began yesterday, players were lined up wearing "Black Lives Matter" T-shirts, with audio clips about systemic racism playing in the background.

As the National Anthem started playing, NBA players, coaches and referees all went down on one knee and hugged each other.

Following the match, the Los Angeles Lakers power forward told reporters: "I hope we continue to make Kaep proud.

"Every single day I hope I make him proud on how I live my life, not only on the basketball floor, but off the floor.

"I want to always speak out against things that I feel like are unjust. I always want to be educated on things and go about it that way."

Kaerpenick's high-profile stance caused a backlash with many threatening to burn Nike clothing and trainers after the sports giant signed him up for an anniversary campaign.

LeBron continued: "Kaep was someone who stood up when times weren't comfortable, when people didn't understand, people refused to listen to what he was saying.

"If you go back and go look at any of his postgame interviews when he was talking about why he was kneeling, it had absolutely nothing to do with the flag.

"It had absolutely nothing to do with the soldiers, the men and women that keep our land free.

"He explained that, and their ears were closed, people never listened, they refused to listen, but I did.

"A lot of people in the black community did listen, and we just thank for him sacrificing everything that he did to put us in a position today, even years later, to be able to have that moment like we did tonight."

The basketball legend has been vocal in the past regarding what he views as police brutality and his experience of living in America as a black man.

Following the death of Trayvon Martin, James and his then-Miami Heat teammates took a picture wearing hoodies, which had become associated with Martin.

LeBron also sported an "I Can't Breathe" tee in 2014 following Eric Garner's death due to aggressive NYPD tactics.

James has regularly been a prominent figure on social media – frequently voicing outrage over the shootings of black men and women by police officers and others.

When Ahmaud Arbery was killed while jogging, James wrote on Instagram: "We're literally hunted EVERYDAY/EVERYTIME we step foot outside the comfort of our homes!"

He posted a photo of ex-Minnesota cop Derek Chauvin kneeling on George Floyd's neck side by side with a pic of Colin Kaepernick kneeling during the national anthem, asking if people understood.

And since Floyd and Breonna Taylor's deaths, he's posted about the justice he says they have yet to receive.

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