“Oh my God! Shohei Ohtani!” Even the announcers could not contain their excitement on Thursday night, as the Japanese sensation created MLB history. Taking the baseball world by storm, Ohtani became the founder of the 50-50 Club. What’s that? You might ask. Well, he is now the first and only player to steal 50 bases and hit 50 home runs in a season. Sure enough, he did it in style by knocking 3 shots out of the park against the Marlins, leaving LeBron James in awe of his dominance just months after a controversial linkup.

While Shohei Ohtani had already achieved the feat with his second home run of the night, he took it a step further and knocked a third one out of the park in the 9th inning. As he went 6-6 on the night and the clip went viral on social media, LeBron James took notice and acknowledged the Dodgers star’s greatness with a tweet saying, “THIS GUY IS UNREAL!!!! WOWZERS.” But wait! The two superstars have been mentioned in the same headline once before, but not for the happiest of reasons.

About 4 years ago, LeBron James stepped into the MLB world by partnering with longtime friend Maverick Carter and claiming minority ownership in the Fenway Sports Group. Well, that also made them part owners of the Boston Red Sox, as the team is owned by FSG. However, things took a controversial turn that year as Carter admitted to betting on NBA games through an illegal bookie.

LeBron James’ friend was even interviewed by federal agents amid their investigation into another accused bookie, Wayne Nix. Here’s where things get more interesting.

Connecting the dots, Nik seemingly had ties with bookie Mathew Bowyer, who was under investigation for taking illegal bets from Shohei Ohtani’s former interpreter, Ippei Mizuhara. So, despite coming from two different sporting worlds, LeBron James and Shohei Ohtani had a common link to the gambling drama, as their close associates were among the accused.

LeBron James and Shohei Ohtani came out of the betting scandal unscathed

During his admission, Maverick Carter revealed that he had placed multiple bets worth thousands of dollars on both football and basketball games. However, he could not recall placing one on the Lakers, where his pal LeBron plays. Sure enough, the league does not allow players and officials to bet on league games, while the agents are also prohibited by the NBPA.

But there is no such rule for business managers. As a result, Maverick Carter’s betting on games did not violate any league rules and there was no proof of LeBron James being involved in the situation. The hooper even defended his pal in an interview, saying, “Maverick’s his own man and at the end of the day, gambling is legal. I mean, you can go on your phone right now and do whatever you want. And he has no affiliation with the NBA or NFL, so, he can do what he wants to do.”

Maverick Carter’s spokesperson Adam Mendelsohn later clarified, “Mr. Carter was not the target of the investigation, cooperated, was never charged, and never contacted again on the matter.” Similarly, Shohei Ohtani was also excluded from his ex-interpreter’s scandal, as there was no proof of his involvement. While the drama did no harm to either superstar, it might not be a good look for the NBA and MLB that its close associates of the faces of both leagues were involved in a betting controversy. What are your thoughts?