Well… that might have backfired on LeBron James.
The Los Angeles Lakers forward is about to enter into his 23rd year in the NBA, which is truly insane if you think about it. There are now players in the National Basketball League that weren’t even born yet during LeBron’s rookie year. That’s longevity if I’ve ever seen it.
And with LeBron being 40-years-old (he’s set to turn 41 in December), the word “retirement” has been tossed around a good amount. Many critics and analysts have been predicting James’ fall-off for the past couple of seasons, yet he continues to be one of the most dominant players in the game in his early 40s.
That being said, the retirement talk really ramped up yesterday when LeBron James shared this video on his social media accounts that teased “The Second Decision.” Sports fans likely remember that the 4-time NBA champ’s first “decision” was when he announced he would be taking his talents down to South Beach to play for the Miami Heat. Remember how big of a deal that was?
Well, people were expecting much of the same when LeBron dropped this:
Not only did retirement talk start spreading, ticket prices for Los Angeles Lakers game skyrocketed.
Because some were assuming that James would be announcing that this upcoming season would be his last, home games for the Lakers – and really any Los Angeles games – suddenly became a hot commodity. And the Lakers last home game of the regular season saw an over 500% price increase:
Fans were in full panic mode, and fully expecting that James would share that he was going on his farewell tour during the 2025-26 NBA season.
Then the “Second Decision” video dropped today, and everyone realized that it was all a bit of a rug pull. The Los Angeles forward wasn’t announcing his retirement, or that he was switching to a different NBA team like he did with his first decision. Instead?
LeBron dropped a Hennessy ad on all of us:
Needless to say, people weren’t happy with the “engagement farming” that LeBron James and his team pulled off with this one.
The internet didn’t take long to start ripping LeBron for teasing what seemed to be a big-time life change, only for it to actually be an advertisement for the popular cognac brand:
— McNeil (@Reflog_18) October 7, 2025
— . (@ytlyts) October 7, 2025
A grown ah 40 year old man baiting for attention just for an ad pic.twitter.com/bFlKV2Lhql
— APHoops (@APH00PS) October 7, 2025
— lilstovetop ⚡️ (@LilStovetop_) October 7, 2025
Bro gaslit everyone for a Hennessy ad 😅💀
— OurSF49ers (@OurSf49ers) October 7, 2025
— KlawedUP (@KlawedUP) October 7, 2025
This could’ve been an email
— Garrett, The Car Guy. Fort Bend Toyota (@houstonfan4life) October 7, 2025
