LeBron James is not leaving the court.
After teasing an Oct. 7 announcement that had fans in a frenzy, the 40-year-old revealed that his place in the NBA has not changed. In fact, the basketball star shared the "second decision" he made was in connection to his partnership with Hennessy.
"This fall, I'm going to be taking my talents,” LeBron said in an ad shared to his Instagram Oct. 7, “to Henessy VSOP," adding that he feels like this move will give him "the best opportunity at hosting."
The Akron, Ohio, native began his NBA career with his home team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, after being the first overall pick in the 2003 NBA draft. His performance that season earned him the NBA Rookie of the Year Award, marking the first of many titles he received throughout his seven-season run with the team.
In 2010, LeBron—who shares kids Bronny, 21, Bryce, 18, and Zhuri, 10, with wife Savannah James—caused a massive stir in the sports world when he announced he would be signing with the Miami Heat, prompting uproar from fans, some of whom even burned their LeBron jerseys. After four seasons with the Heat, he returned to the Cavaliers.
After another four-year stint with the Cavs, the four-time NBA Finals champion headed for the West Coast, signing with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2018. And it’s with his latest team where he finally reached a long-awaited milestone: playing ball with Bronny.
In 2024, he and the 21-year-old made history as the first father-son duo to ever play in the NBA at the same time, let alone in the same game.
The day before his announcement, LeBron teased his news by sharing a clip on social media of himself sitting down for an interview he dubbed “The Second Decision”—a direct reference to his controversial 2010 ESPN interview titled The Decision, where he announced he would be leaving the Cavaliers for the Heat.
The month before, the Space Jam: A New Legacy star shut down retirement rumors and noted he would make the announcement on his own time.
"I'm not hinting at anything," he said on the Sept. 18 episode of 360 With Speedy. "Obviously, I know I'm on the other side of the hump, for sure. Come on now, I'm not about to play another 23 years, that's for damn sure, and I'm not about to play another 10.”
He added, “I'm definitely gearing up to where the end is, I'm not there yet."
While it seems LeBron isn't quite ready for his life off the court, read on to see how he has already been investing his time in areas outside the NBA.
Planting Roots
The LeBron James Family Foundation got off the ground not long after James went No. 1 in the NBA draft right out of Akron's St. Vincent-St. Mary High School and joined his hometown team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, in 2003.
Over the years, the foundation has poured millions of dollars into helping to lift up the city's youth who were considered at risk of dropping out, getting them on a path to college and providing resources to help whole families stay engaged with their kids' education.
"From the beginning, when I started to do my foundation work, I wanted to do something that would be sustainable, and not just do 'one-offs,'" James explained to the Northeast Ohio Media Group in 2014. "You do something one summer and then it's over and done with. I wanted to do something that they would be empowered by, that was going to be sustainable, something that would last for generations. And to this point we've done such a great job."
By then, more than 800 kids were on the graduation path with help from the foundation's I Promise program.
Princely Gestures
James started the annual King-for-Kids Bike-A-Thon in Akron to benefit local youth programs. Bicycles were given to the children as part of his foundation's Wheels for Education program (which also donated backpacks and laptops to students starting in the third grade), and they got to ride alongside LeBron and some of his NBA star pals, such as Chris Paul, pictured here in 2009.
The Decision
As much flak as he and ESPN got for turning his decision to take his talents to Miami into a televised spectacle, LeBron earmarked $2.5 million of the proceeds the 2010 special brought in for the Boys and Girls Club of America, an organization he has worked with at chapters around the country.
Paving the Way
In 2015, James' foundation announced, through a partnership with the University of Akron, a four-year scholarship to cover tuition and general school fees for the 1,100 kids participating in the I Promise program and enrolled in the Akron public schools system, a roughly $42 million endeavor.
"It's the reason I do what I do," James said at an event for kids held at Cedar Point Amusement Park, per ESPN. "These students have big dreams, and I'm happy to do everything I can to help them get there. They're going to have to earn it, but I'm excited to see what these kids can accomplish knowing that college is in their futures."
The first class of scholarship recipients is on track to graduate in 2021.
"It means so much because, as a kid growing up in the inner city and a lot of African-American kids, you don't really think past high school," James also said. "You don't really know your future. You hear high school all the time, and you graduate high school, and then you never think past that because either it's not possible or your family's not financially stable to even be able to support a kid going to college."
King of the Land
It certainly didn't hurt local morale when James led the Cavs to their first-ever NBA Championship in 2016.
The Greatest
James, his foundation and his longtime friend and business partner Maverick Carter kicked in $2.5 million to help fund the Muhammad Ali: A Force for Change exhibit at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture when the institution opened in its new home on the National Mall in 2016.
"Muhammad Ali is such a cornerstone of me as an athlete because of what he represented not only in the ring as a champion but more outside the ring—what he stood for, what he spoke for, his demeanor," James told USA Today at the time. "I think of him every day. Without his passion and goals and morals, I don't know if I'd be sitting here today talking to you about it."
Fellow big donors to the exhibit included Michael Jordan, who gave $5 million, and Magic Johnson, who added another $1 million.
From the Heart
LeBron's choice, along with teammate Kyrie Irving, to wear the "I Can't Breathe" T-shirt they'd been sent from the Brooklyn Nets' Jarrett Jack on Dec. 8, 2014, in the wake of 43-year-old Eric Garner's death after an NYPD officer put him in a chokehold, marked a political turning point for him when it came to speaking out publicly and more pointedly about race and police brutality.
Jack wore a shirt during warm-ups before that night's home game against the Cavs as well, as did teammates Kevin Garnett, Deron Williams and Alan Anderson. Around the league over the ensuing days, Derrick Rose and Kobe Bryant were among those who also wore the "I Can't Breathe" shirt.
"I think it's really important that we show our respect to the families," Irving told reporters in the locker room before the game. "More importantly we're in the city where tragedy happened and it's really important to us that we stand up for a cause, especially this one. It hits close to home and means a lot to me."
James had called it a "possibility" that he'd wear the shirt out on the court. Asked what the gesture meant to him later, he replied, "I don't know. It's not for us to figure out. It's just for us to understand what we're going through as a society. I've been forwarded over and over about what's been going on. This is more of a notion to the family more than anything. As a society we have to do better. We have to be better for one another no matter what race you are. But it's more of a shout-out to the family more than anything because they're the ones who should be getting the energy and effort."
Global Reach
Kids of all ages love him everywhere. LeBron met with young fans at a father-son event in Hong Kong in 2014.
Setting an Example
James and Stephen Curry visited students in 2015 at the High School of Graphic Communication Arts in New York as part of NBA FIT, a league program that promotes physical and mental health wellness for fans of all ages.
He Was With Her
James endorsed Hillary Clinton for president in 2016, speaking at a rally in Cleveland two days before the election.
Preparing Today's Youth to Lead Tomorrow
The LeBron James Family Fund, in collaboration with the Akron Public School District, celebrated the opening of the I Promise School in July 2018, what will eventually be a 1st-through-8th-grade school tailored to give students an enriched, state-of-the-art learning experience, as well as access to medical services and other necessities.
While it's a taxpayer-funded public school, the foundation provides over $1 million a year to go toward teacher salaries, having enough staff to limit class sizes to 20 students, after school programs, tutors and other resources for families to utilize.
Meanwhile, the I Promise Network serves kids through 11th grade, and they're looking to add 12th by the 2020-21 school year.
Hometown Boy
When COVID-19 forced public schools to shutter around the country, the foundation arranged for I Promise's Family Resource Center to stay open to give people access to medical care, mental health resources, food and shelter.
They also teamed with Smuckers and Akron Food Bank to prep and give care packages filled with food, toothpaste and toilet paper to its 1,443 enrolled students and their families. James also started doing Taco Tuesdays for the kids and their families in March, providing meal packages that could feed four or five people for each of the school's 340 students.
Hardware for Hard Work
Capping off a good year, LeBron was presented with the NBA Cares Community Assist Award in 2018 for his dedication to bettering the lives of children in his hometown.
"To be able to support and create opportunities for the kids in Akron who are in danger of falling through the cracks means everything to me because I was one of those kids," he said at the time. "I'm proud and excited to create a school and provide resources that will help these students earn an education that will change their lives and give them a better future.