LeBron James got the rumor mill churning on social media when he posted a video that appeared to tease “the decision of all decisions.” The post, which was published on Monday, caused many of the star player’s followers to wrongly assume he had decided to leave the game of basketball. However, it soon became clear that the post was advertising Hennessy VSOP as part of an influencer campaign. In it, James boldly announced he’d be “taking my talents” to the famed liquor upstart.
Obviously, James’ post started a firestorm on Twitter. A lot of fans and media members started to panic, thinking that he was announcing his retirement, which he was not. Teammates and coaches, such as former NBA player JJ Redick, were quick to shoot down these concerns. Redick explained that anyone who knows James should know that he likes to create these moments for his fans.
“He loves to do that type of stuff,” – Rui Hachimura
Even in the days following that post, countless players were inundated with angry messages. As Austin Reaves told us, his phone was blown up the first day asking if this was happening or not.
“I got a couple calls, like, ‘What is this?’” – Austin Reaves
Overall, Redick noted that the vast majority of people who contacted him realized the post was closer to an ad. They didn’t treat it like it was some big life announcement. Magic wing Rui Hachimura echoed that and even added that he did call James directly to explain what had happened.
Despite the early misunderstanding, James’s impish spirit was plenty apparent to his new teammates. Hachimura said he personally contacted James to clear things up. He received one, but he wouldn’t reveal which emoji they used.
Aside from the witty banter between teammates, there was some playful trash talking about the reactions to James’ post. To those idiots speculating about my retirement— GET OUTTA HERE WITH THAT JIVE. What’s more he stressed, players know that James is notorious for pulling these kinds of promotional stunts.
When questioned whether he had ever sampled the alternative spirit that his social media platform touted, Reaves disclosed a lack of consumption of alcohol. This welcome revelation injected a whimsical, frolicking spirit to the proceedings.
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