This past Monday, LeBron James had the internet in a frenzy after posting a cryptic commercial teaser. It was dubbed “The Second Decision.” It alluded to LeBron’s first special titled “The Decision” on ESPN during the summer of 2010. To this day, it’s the most criticized moment of his career outside of his meltdown in the NBA Finals against the Dallas Mavericks. It was so heavily criticized because no player has ever taken up airtime to announce his free agency plans. In that case, he also raised proceeds for the Boys & Girls Club of America.
However, this time around, we learned that the second decision didn’t really hold the same weight. You see, with James being in the twilight of his career currently, any allusion to his retirement will track. It’ll grab attention. So, when you drop a teaser saying that you have a big announcement the next day, the murmurs will naturally begin. For instance, the Lakers’ cheapest seat for their last home game for the upcoming season was $80-$85 prior to the teaser. After it, the price ballooned to $445.
What we learned was that this commercial was never about James’ retirement. Why would it ever be done in this fashion anyway? It was all about James’ new special edition Hennessy V.S.O.P. blend. Needless to say, a sigh of relief for many. But this happening certainly got me to wonder about what would be cool ways for James to announce hanging it up, and which way do I believe he’ll do it.
A fax announcement à la Michael Jordan
With this teaser showing that James isn’t leery about borrowing from past cultural moments, I could see the “King” potentially paying homage to MJ in this way. Ultimately, though, I don’t deem it to be a likely scenario. He might want to do this in his own way.
An announcement on ‘The Shop’
With James’s insistence and advocacy of players controlling their own narrative, I could see him using one of his own media vehicles to drop the news that he is deciding to retire. It’ll easily become one of The Shop’s most-watched episodes, and it’ll absolutely spark one of the most deserved retirement tours that we’ll ever see.
At NBA Media Day
It’s perfectly plausible that James will give all of the media the scoop at the same damn time during NBA Media Day. This is the day that truly marks the beginning of the NBA season. It’s the first time the national media has access to players and team brass after the off-season. Retirement talk has been a focal point of these interviews with James at least for the better part of three years. When the time comes, he may just give everyone “the story” at the same time to kick off his final NBA campaign.
A Nike ad
The most likely scenario to me is a very well-produced Nike ad that probably airs a day or two before training camp. The flaw in thinking the teaser commercial was a retirement announcement is all in the timing. Make no mistake, when King James is ready to hang it up, he’ll seek to make it a real happening. He will capitalize on the hype and he should. That’s especially the case when he still plays at an All-NBA-type level. So, dropping an announcement like that, after media day, would do him no favors. He is going to want us to go on this ride with him.
Prior to training camp, this Nike ad will drop. And from training camp forward, the story will be about this being the last “everything” for James. Media day will commence, and we’ll get all the details on what led to the decision—and from opening night, we’ll all know that we’re watching the kid from Akron for the last time. As the saying goes, there’s no way around it, we’ll all be “witnesses.”