07/16/26 09:17:00
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07/16 05:00 CDT LeBron James scheduled to speak Thursday at Fanatics Fest in
NYC, as NBA waits to hear his plans
LeBron James scheduled to speak Thursday at Fanatics Fest in NYC, as NBA waits
to hear his plans
By STEPHEN WHYNO and TIM REYNOLDS
AP Sports Writers
NEW YORK (AP) --- LeBron James may be ready to shed some light on his future
plans.
The NBA's career scoring king --- and free agent --- is scheduled to speak
publicly Thursday afternoon, meaning it's possible that James will be revealing
where he plans to play this coming season or at least give some updates on
where he is in the decision-making process.
James will be recording an episode of his "Mind the Game" podcast alongside
guest co-host Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers in New York on the
opening day of Fanatics Fest, a four-day event featuring dozens of athletes,
celebrities and sports legends. Single-day general admission tickets are sold
out, organizers said.
That appearance has been planned for months; it was announced publicly in May.
James is the NBA's oldest active player at 41 and the only player in league
history to have a career spanning 23 seasons; this coming season will be his
24th. Speculation has been rampant for more than two months about his future,
officially starting in May when the Los Angeles Lakers were eliminated from the
NBA playoffs.
At that time, James said he didn't know what he would be doing.
And the only developments that he's revealed since came on June 30, when he
said he would play this coming season and that he was leaving the Lakers after
an eight-season run highlighted by the 2020 NBA title.
For more than two weeks, the NBA has been waiting to hear what comes next.
James' resume is beyond compare in NBA history. He's a 22-time All-Star, a
21-time All-NBA selection, a four-time Most Valuable Player, a four-time NBA
Finals MVP, a three-time All-Star Game MVP, and was a member of the NBA's 75th
anniversary team.
He's also coming off a season where he averaged 20.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, and
7.2 assists per game. For his career, he's averaged 26.8 points, 7.5 rebounds,
and 7.4 assists in more than 1,600 games.
The podcast is the first of two known speaking engagements for James in New
York on Thursday.
He's also planning to appear at the Game Plan Summit, an invitation-only event
presented by CNBC and Boardroom. James is slated to have a conversation with
Boardroom co-founder Rich Kleiman --- Kevin Durant's longtime business partner
--- about "how he's built an empire beyond basketball, what's ahead for him in
business, and why the next generation of athletes is poised to wield more
influence than ever before."
James started his career in Cleveland in 2003 and spent seven seasons with the
Cavaliers before heading to Miami for four seasons --- where he won his first
two titles. He then returned to Cleveland for four more seasons, leaving in
2018 to start an eight-season run with the Lakers.
Cleveland and Miami are believed to be on James' radar again as he weighs this
decision, as are several other teams including Philadelphia, Minnesota and
Golden State.
___
Reynolds reported from Miami.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba
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