LeBron James made another public appearance Friday with no real update regarding his next NBA team.
According to a video posted to X by ESPN reporter Dave McMenamin, James, on stage at Fanatics Fest in New York, appeared to say he wanted to join a franchise that “shares the same model as myself, and that’s like practicing championship (habits) every day, but trusting the process more than anything.” In the same answer, he said “trust the process” again, which was a slogan tied to the Philadelphia 76ers’ rebuild around Joel Embiid.
When James said the phrase, the large crowd on hand appeared to react. Someone with James on stage seemed to deny he was talking about the Sixers, and James added that he had used that phrase since he was drafted in 2003. “I don’t think Embiid was even born yet,” James said.
Where will LeBron James end up?
The Athletic NBA Staff and Jeshua Kidd
Then, James either seemed to further the joke — or rope one or two other teams into it.
“Y’all always think I’m talk(ing) … OK, so we got (to) trust the process, and then if you get to a place where it’s real sunny,” James said, with the crowd seemingly reacting to that, too. According to McMenamin’s video, there appeared to be boos.
“Real sunny” might’ve been an allusion to the TV show “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,” or it could have been a teasing of a potential destination with nice weather, such as Miami or San Francisco. Cleveland and Minnesota, and to a lesser extent Denver, do not have as nice weather.
James, 41, is set to leave a team in free agency for the fourth time in his career, which is about to extend to 24 seasons. James took the stage Friday for a live recording of his YouTube Show “The Shop.” He had a similar appearance Thursday at Fanatics Fest, offering up a nothing burger during a live recording of his podcast “Mind the Game” with co-host Tyrese Haliburton. James also appeared during a panel at the CNBC/Boardroom Game Plan event.
“I won’t hold you guys up too much longer,” James said then.