LeBron James was able to pull a fast one on everybody who thought his second decision tease was going to be a retirement announcement.
It was revealed on Tuesday that James’ “second decision” is an advertising partnership with Hennessy, with the future Hall of Famer sharing a series of emojis on X poking fun at all the speculation about his potential retirement.
The speculation started on Monday when James posted a video on social media teasing an announcement for 12 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
Hennessy’s advertising team didn’t even wait that long to complete the joke, posting the video reveal at 10:30 a.m. ET on Tuesday morning.
This is especially tough news for people who were banking on the possibility of James announcing his retirement and trying to cash in on it.
For example, ESPN’s Kalan Hooks noted in the aftermath of Monday’s teaser video that the cost for the least-expensive individual ticket for the Los Angeles Lakers’ final home game of the 2025-26 regular season increased more than 700 percent from $82 to $580.
James has stated publicly that he doesn’t yet know when his playing career will end. The four-time NBA champion told reporters at the start of training camp on Sept. 29 he’s “excited about today” and knows the end is coming sooner than later as he enters his 23rd season.
“I’m excited about today,” James said. “I’m excited about the opportunity to be able to play the game that I love for another season. However the journey lays out this year, I’m super-invested, because I don’t know when the end is. I know it’s a lot sooner than later.”
The 2025-26 season marks the final year of James’ current contract with the Lakers. He did seem open to the idea of a possible trade after opting in to his $52.6 million salary, but that scenario was reportedly never seriously considered by the Lakers.
James and the Lakers will tipoff the regular season against the Golden State Warriors at Crypto.com Arena on Oct. 21.
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