Dave Portnoy admits he 'panicked' after NBA cameras caught him on a date with 25-year-old blonde at Celtics-Heat game: 'I was sweating'

Dave Portnoy admits he 'panicked' after being spotted on a date during the live broadcast of Monday's Celtics-Heat playoff game.

Footage of Portnoy, 47, sat behind TNT Sports announcers Brian Anderson and Stan Van Gundy with a mystery blonde went viral earlier this week, with the Barstool founder seen hilariously telling his date at Kaseya Center that they were on TV.

Camryn D'Aloia, a 25-year-old recent college graduate, was later identified as the girl sat beside him as they watched their home team defeat the Miami Heat.

Two days on from the viral moment, Portnoy opened up on his date with D'Aloia during the latest episode of his BFF Podcast with Josh Richards and Brianna Chickenfry - claiming that he turned down courtside seats out of fear of being seen.

'Very unfortunate set of circumstances, I’ll say that,' he said. 'Because… well, I’m sensitive still to the fact I’m six months, five-and-a-half months out of a relationship, so being seen on a date or with a girl, it was not what I was trying to do.'

Dave Portnoy admits he 'panicked' after being spotted on a date during the live broadcast of Monday's Celtics-Heat playoff game

 Footage of Portnoy, 47, sat behind TNT Sports announcers Brian Anderson and Stan Van Gundy with a mystery blonde went viral earlier this week

Camryn D'Aloia, a 25-year-old recent college graduate, was identified as the girl sat beside him

Portnoy announced his split from influencer Silvana Mojica late in 2023 after three years together, with the pair previously attending Celtics games before going their separate ways.

As a result, he was keen to protect Mojica's feelings and avoid being captured alongside a new woman. 

'If you know how I enjoy Celtics games, generally [sitting] center court, on the wood, loud, proud,' Portnoy added. 'I’m friends with this girl, we’ve hung out. It’s not boyfriend-girlfriend, obviously.

'She’s from Boston, so [she’s] a Celtics fan. I don’t want to point the finger. I turned down courtside [seats]. I don’t want to be pictured, I don’t want to be on TV, I don’t want any of it.

'We walk in, sit down and I know instantly I have a problem. No idea where these tickets were. They are right behind the broadcaster. It was the two worst tickets — and there’s the reaction, like... what the f**k?'

He continued: 'We sat down and it’s like: "We are f**ked." That’s the initial [reaction]. You can see us on the screen. 

'I think I told her, "Just don’t panic, just don’t panic,’ because this girl does not want to be - you guys can appreciate that there is a level of notoriety that stinks when you’re well known. We just wanted to go to the Celtics game.'

Portnoy insists it was not his intention to be spotted on the date with D'Aloia at the game

Portnoy went on to explain that he purchased two other tickets in different seats simply to move three rows back out of the TV camera's shot.

Yet it was too late for D'Aloia to steer clear of any attention, with the college graduate receiving thousands of Instagram requests after being spotted with Portnoy. 

'It sucked. Imagine just being a pedestrian. She’s a pedestrian and you’re just thrown in,' he said. 'She opened her Instagram and was like, "I have 9,000 Instagram requests.”

'She had an awful time. She could not enjoy the game at all.'