NBA star LeBron James responds to Ocean City Nor'easters alum Nate Bourdeau's tweet in Kia ad

Bourdeau's tweet featured in a national commercial for Kia

Nate Bourdeau's tweet was featured in a Kia commercial starring NBA superstar LeBron James

During last year's NBA Finals between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Golden State Warriors, former Ocean City Nor'easters player Nate Bourdeau was watching when a commercial for the car company Kia came on the screen.

The ad, starring Cavaliers superstar LeBron James, struck Bourdeau as a little bit funny. He felt like the odds of one of the richest athletes on the planet probably wouldn't be driving a Kia. So he expressed that thought on Twitter.

At the time of writing this, the tweet was a mild social media success, attracting a modest nine retweets and 14 likes. Most of you reading that would be pretty happy with that level of a response. However, there was one particular response that shocked Nate: Kia Motor Company.

"A few months ago, I received a message from a marketing rep for Kia asking if I would be interested in letting them use my tweet for a commercial," said Bourdeau, who helped the Rochester Rhinos win a USL championship last year and currently plays for the Syracuse Silver Knights in the Major Arena Soccer League. "Once they told me what direction the commercial would be going, I was all in."

The commercial recently made its national debut, airing during the Cavaliers/Warriors regular season rematch on Jan. 18, and as you can see, the folks at Kia and LeBron James have a little fun with Nate's tweet. Watch the video below:



Bourdeau, who played for Ocean City during the 2012 PDL season, is excited about his "cameo" in a national commercial, but despite Kia and LeBron James' response, he's not backing down.

Bourdeau received any compensation for his contribution to the ad, or even a shout out from James on Twitter.

"I just thought it was cool to be in a commercial with arguably the most famous athlete of my generation," said Bourdeau, who is a well-rounded sports fan who supports former Syracuse star Carmelo Anthony and the Knicks. "Although it would be nice to get a jersey or something." 

"The King" may not know that he was highlighting a tweet from a professional soccer player, but James has been very involved in the game in recent years. He owns a stake in Liverpool Football Club in the English Premier League, and there have been reports that he is going to be involved in David Beckham's Major League Soccer franchise in Miami.

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