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Rihanna
 

LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Stephen Curry and Kyrie Irving were on the court at the NBA Finals. Jay Z, Kevin Hart, MC Hammer and Drew Brees were also there.

But Rihanna was the real MVP.

While walking to her seat, the singer, songwriter, actress and generally awe-inspiring individual totally sidetracked commentator Jeff Van Gundy. "Rihanna just walked in front of me!" Van Gundy yelled. "Are you kidding me?


Rihanna, who attend the game with her assistant, Jenn Rosales, has long been a vocal LeBron fan and showed that with her social media game during last year's NBA Finals. When James was with the Heat, Rihanna supported him and even went to war with then-New York Knick J.R. Smith over the matter (now that Smith is James' teammate, she has to reluctantly give him respect, although Twitter can still make jokes).

Even when the Cavs were getting blown out in the fourth quarter Thursday night -- the Warriors won the game, 113-91 -- Rihanna bowed down to King James. She then dabbed in front of angry Warriors fans.


After the game, while walking with friends, Rihanna was caught on camera saying, "The King is still king, b****!"


That's loyalty right there.

During the game, it appeared Rihanna established a new rivalry. She called out Durant.

ESPN cameras actually broadcasted Rihanna yelling, "BRICK!" during a Durant free throw attempt.


Again, Rihanna was the MVP of the night. If there was an MVP of the actual game, it would have to be Durant, who put up 38 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.

And it appeared he heard Rihanna's taunts. After hitting a late 3-pointer, Durant stared Rihanna down.


Or did he? Intrepid reporter Robert Littal of Black Sports Online asked Durant about the look at Rihanna, and KD side-stepped the question. "I don't even remember that," he said. Curry was intrigued though.


This story gets better. Twitter has the receipts. Durant has a history of having affection for Rihanna.


There's no word on whether Riri will be at a game the rest of the NBA Finals. But at least during Game 1, she established herself as a focal point of this series.

For LeBron, she is a crucial piece he can use to his advantage. Rihanna can potentially throw Durant off his game. If Durant's commanding performance Thursday is suggestive of how he will play the rest of the series, James needs all the help he can get.

-- Follow Jeff Eisenband on Twitter @JeffEisenband. Like Jeff Eisenband on Facebook.