Everyone was on edge waiting for LeBron James’ “Second Decision.” Fans thought he was about to retire or switch teams, considering that the last time a “Decision” was made, The King took his talents from Cleveland to Miami. Turns out, it was just a Hennessy ad. The internet lost it, realizing LBJ had trolled everyone, and not everyone was happy about it.
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Some Purple and Gold fans didn’t take the joke too well. Ticket prices for the final Lakers regular-season game skyrocketed as many assumed the future Hall of Famer was hanging them up. One guy was so distraught that he’s attempting to sue LeBron James for the amount he paid for the ticket. (Good luck with that one, pal.)
This certainly didn’t help slow down the LeBron haters’ train. Many piled on insults, calling him a troll. But the real ones know. That includes LeBron’s former teammates Kendrick Perkins, Richard Jefferson, and Channing Frye. The trio spoke about the “Second Decision” on the latest edition of the Road Trippin’ podcast.
“It worked,” barked Perkins, who loved the idea. “Shoutout to Hennessy. Whoever came up with the concept. Shout out Bron cause it got everybody f****** attention, and everybody’s talking about Hennessy. Don’t matter if they talking about it in a bad way. ‘Oh it’s a f****** Hennessy ad.’ They did their job.”
There are plenty of times when Perkins tends to take things a little too seriously and makes bizarre or controversial statements. But he’s right on the money here. This was prime-time marketing featuring arguably the biggest star in sports. Jefferson was also a fan of the stunt.
“It just didn’t feel…the weight of his retirement,” stated RJ. “I feel like there would have been more energy surrounding it before the ad. It was a great job. 10 out of 10. You know they paid him so much money. ‘We’ll pay you $10 million.'”
Of course, this was just RJ speculating on the price. There are no reports of how much LBJ made on the deal, but knowing The King, it was certainly a bag.
“His deal with Hennessey or LVMH got to be crazy,” added Frye. “I cannot wait to do a study on what that deal was to see what he got.”
LeBron knew exactly what he was doing, and it worked perfectly, as the trio of his former teammates discussed on the podcast. Everyone was talking, Hennessy got their spotlight, and The King reminded everyone that he is still the master of controlling a narrative. Whether you loved it or hated it, you were watching, and that is the real win.
