Think back — if you’re old enough — to 30 years ago and those two famous words from Michael Jordan, delivered on March 18, 1995 via fax:
“I’m back.”
Remember how thrilled you were to find out he would be playing basketball again? Remember how exciting it all seemed, that the greatest was once again returning to the hardwood? Good times, right?
And then remember how devastated you were to learn that it was all just a big ad campaign for Ben-Gay to soothe sore back muscles? Remember how betrayed you felt to have your emotions toyed with like that, all in service of a damn commercial?
Of course you don’t remember that last part, because it didn’t happen. Jordan didn’t tease his fans like that, didn’t screw with their heads (and their wallets) for the sake of some cheap ad hype.
LeBron James, on the other hand …
On Monday, James, the ageless Laker and NBA scoring champion, teased “The Second Decision,” an event apparently momentous enough to warrant naming it after the first time James upended the entire NBA back in 2010. The initial version of The Decision involved James stomping on the entire city of Cleveland’s heart live on TV as he announced he would be “taking his talents to South Beach.”
Given how well The Decision went over with the public, running it back for a 2.0 version seemed about as wise as bringing back, oh, Blockbuster Video. And yet, that didn’t stop James (and, presumably, whatever PR team thought this was a good idea) from pushing forward on a stunt — complete with teaser and dramatic timed reveal — that had at least some people thinking James, who’s not under contract past this season, would be announcing his retirement. Now that will be a story, whenever it happens.
As it turned out, The Second Decision wasn’t anything that consequential. It was just another ad, an ad for a company we won’t even repeat here because they didn’t pay us. (And since we’re in a justifiably cynical age, plenty of would-be viewers sussed out correctly that this was just another craven sponsor play.)
This is what makes James such a maddening figure. For all his prodigious talent, longevity and shadow over the game — and, yes, he’s strengthening his case for GOAT over MJ with every passing year — he dives into cheap-heat garbage like this stunt. Come on, man! You’re LeBron James! You don’t need to pull this kind of junk on your fans!
Sure, it’s just a goofy ad. But shouldn’t the GOAT hold himself to a little higher standard than that? Does everything need to be #content now? Yeah, we’re deep in old-man-yells-at-TikTok territory here, but maybe continually toying with people’s expectations — and convincing them to spend thousands on potential final-game tickets as some did after Monday’s tease — just to make a few bucks off of, and for, [unnamed product] isn’t really the best way forward. Authenticity can’t be bought, but it sure can be given away with a single tweet.
At the end of the ad — which, again, we won’t be showing here because it’s an ad — James says, “I like my decision.” This time around, he’s alone in that.
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