LeBron keeps NBA waiting as Sixers slogan lights up Fanatics Fest
LeBron James again declined to reveal his free agency choice, while a familiar Philadelphia phrase sent fans buzzing in New York.
By Georgia Hale · Staff Writer
3 min read
LeBron James walked off his fourth public Fanatics Fest appearance in two days with the NBA still waiting on the same answer: where he plans to play next.
ESPN reported that James closed out his scheduled run Friday at the Javits Center in New York during a live taping of The Shop, the barbershop-style talk show he has co-hosted with longtime friend and business partner Maverick Carter.
The taping also marked a handoff for the show. According to ESPN, James and Carter ended their eight-year run as main co-hosts, with actor and rapper Travis Bennett and comedian Steelo Brim taking over. Tennis star Novak Djokovic and U.S. soccer player Folarin Balogun appeared as guests.
Brim tried to get the news out of James in front of a crowd ESPN estimated at about 5,000, echoing Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton’s attempt a day earlier during a live recording of James’ “Mind the Game” podcast.
James did not bite. “We don’t have an announcement to make just yet,” he said, according to ESPN, smiling while seated in sunglasses and a baseball cap.
The crowd groaned and booed, ESPN reported. Bennett then said the world was waiting because games still had to be scheduled.
Silver wants an answer
That line followed NBA commissioner Adam Silver’s public nudge Thursday at the CNBC Sport x Boardroom Game Plan Summit, where Silver said James’ next team would affect the league calendar.
“Where LeBron plays will affect the schedule,” Silver said, according to ESPN. Silver said teams and networks were calling the league and that James’ choice would influence opening week, Christmas Day and other parts of the schedule.
ESPN also reported, citing multiple sources familiar with James’ thinking, that the 41-year-old is close to making a decision. League and team personnel who spoke with ESPN are hopeful the call comes next week.
One phrase, instant Philly buzz
James gave the room a jolt when he was asked what he is weighing as he picks his next team.
He said he wants to compete at a high level and join a franchise that shares his focus on championship habits. Then he used the phrase “trusting the process,” according to ESPN, and the audience reacted fast.
The phrase has heavy Philadelphia 76ers baggage. ESPN noted it was tied to former Sixers president and general manager Sam Hinkie’s rebuild from 2013 to 2016, and later became linked to Joel Embiid, who adopted “The Process” as a nickname.
Some Sixers fans cheered while others in the room booed, ESPN reported. James then said he had been saying “trust the process” since he was drafted in 2003 and joked that he did not know whether Embiid had even been born yet.
James also pointed to the NBA’s recent parity, saying there have been eight different champions in eight seasons and that every fan base enters the year believing it could be their turn.
On retirement, James again sounded like a player not framing 2026-27 as a farewell tour. Speaking alongside the 39-year-old Djokovic, he questioned why athletes still performing at a high level are pushed toward retirement.
James compared older elite athletes to long-running musicians such as Bruce Springsteen and the Rolling Stones, according to ESPN. He said that if he still loves the game and is giving everything to it, he wants to keep going.
His summary was plain: he is trying to “squeeze as much of the juice out of it as possible.”
This story draws on original reporting from ESPN.com.