Any basketball fan remembers July 8, 2010, when a young LeBron James, coming off a heartbreaking postseason defeat with the Cleveland Cavaliers, entered free agency and hosted a sit-down interview called “The Decision” to announce where he would be playing next.
He ultimately chose the Miami Heat, and the rest became NBA history. That moment remains one of the most iconic and widely remembered free-agent decisions in league history.
Now, with retirement looming — whether at the end of this season with the Los Angeles Lakers or sometime in the near future — the soon-to-be 41-year-old superstar teased fans this week with a snippet of a video called “The Second Decision.” The clip led some fans and media personnel to believe James was about to announce his retirement.
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Instead, it turned out to be a marketing ploy for an upcoming partnership with Hennessy. While many expected it to be a promotional stunt, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith didn’t hold back during Wednesday’s episode of “First Take” regarding his feelings about what James had done.
“I think one critic said it best: if you make a bad movie, you typically don’t have a sequel. So if you look at ‘The Decision’ and the manner in which that was handled… you would think he wouldn’t want to remind people of that,” Smith said. “Unfortunately, he was tone-deaf. This was corny as hell, it was cringy, it was all of that — we know this. You’re promoting an alcoholic beverage and trying to give people the impression that this could be your final season and you’re retiring.
“I don’t understand why the second-greatest player who ever lived would stoop to try to garner attention for himself with something other than trying to win an [expletive] championship. I don’t give an [expletive] about a Hennessy commercial. Especially from him. In fact, if he plays like garbage at any point when it really counts, I’m going to think about that Hennessy commercial.”
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While Smith has long regarded James as the second-greatest player in NBA history behind Michael Jordan, whatever relationship he had with the longtime superstar was effectively damaged last season when James confronted him over on-air comments regarding his son and Lakers teammate, Bronny James.
Although Smith clarified that his remarks were about James and not Bronny, the incident was never fully reconciled. Since then, Smith has made it clear that they have “no relationship” and “don’t like each other.”
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