LeBron James is a comedian, a master manipulator, a capitalist, kind of mean, and someone who loves Hennessy. The Los Angeles Lakers superstar took to social media on Monday to tease 'the decision of all decisions.' Fans began to worry.
Was this James hinting that it was finally time to call an end to his legendary basketball career? Well, no, not at all.
Many speculated this was some sort of advertisement. The popular theory was that it would be for Amazon Prime. While the latter prediction was incorrect, the former was not. The Second Decision did indeed turn out to be an ad, but it was for Hennessy.
😉😜👑 https://t.co/NGqV2C0dSy
— LeBron James (@KingJames) October 7, 2025
Some people were relieved, despite James' corny maneuver. Others had to have been frustrated and let down. Plenty of fans rushed to blow money on Lakers tickets for the final regular season game when they thought LeBron might be calling it quits. A heartfelt 'ouch' goes out to all the people who have tickets to watch the Utah Jazz on Apr. 12 as a result of this misdirect.
James' approach to teasing his business partnership here was calculated. The Lakers superstar must know how many fans would be sad to see him finally retire from the sport. That did not matter. The bottom line wins out in the end.
LeBron turned retirement talk into a clever marketing play
James knew everyone has been invested in when the decision to retire from the NBA will be made. The all-time great fielded a ton of questions on the subject at Lakers Media Day.
In all fairness to the fans who went nuts thinking that this was it for LeBron, they should have known better. James spent the majority of the media day experience discussing how much love he still had for the game, for the process, and everything else that being in the NBA involves.
LeBron never sounded like someone who was on the verge of calling it a career. Seeing that change in about a week's time would have been an absolute shocker.
Bron spent media day talking about how much he still loved the game and the process.
— Svyatoslav Rovenchuk (JJ Buckets) (@JJBuckets17) October 6, 2025
No shot this is a retirement announcement, unless it's an all-time swerve https://t.co/30FUCp8XeY
Even so, can fans really be blamed for getting emotionally invested in the matter? There are many out there who consider James their favorite player of all time.
For those that do not, there is still the element of a large chunk of basketball fans having grown up not knowing an NBA that does not feature LeBron. That means something to people.
Ultimately, there will be feelings of relief, annoyance, and a whole lot more after today. If James' move proved anything, it is not only that he is exactly who everyone thought he is, but also that many are still not ready to see him go, despite him pushing towards his 41st birthday in December.