On Tuesday, Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James infuriated the entire basketball world when his “second decision” social media post, which many anticipated was a retirement announcement, was actually an announcement for Hennessy. James is now firmly in “boy who cried wolf” territory, with fans now likely to be untrustworthy of anything he says moving forward on that front.
One person who shares fans' anger with James' decision is ESPN sports media personality Stephen A. Smith, who recently took to “First Take” to put James on blast.
“If you play like garbage at any point in time when it really really counts, I'm going to think about that Hennessy commercial and wonder if you were drinking something before the game,” said Smith.
Smith then said he's actually rooting for the Lakers to do well, despite James' seemingly never-ending thirst for attention.
“Here's what I care about… you wanting attention for winning because you haven't done it… I want the Lakers to win the chip. … I don't want to be in Oklahoma City… I wanna travel to LA.”
A low move from LeBron James
When James initially announced the “second decision” teaser, some fans immediately correctly predicted it would be an advertisement, although there was some hope that the Lakers star wouldn't go so low as to make a full teaser trailer just to promote a product.
However, that's exactly what he ended up doing, and he drew a plethora of criticism in response, with fans wondering why he would possibly need the extra cash or attention that came from such a move.
The fact that it did turn out to be nothing more than an advertisement is likely good to hear for Lakers fans, who are looking for the star to stay in uniform for as long as possible. Last year, the Lakers bowed out in the first round against the Minnesota Timberwolves, but fans are hoping that the first full season of the Luka Doncic era will yield better results.
The Lakers will kick off their season on October 21 against the Golden State Warriors.
