Lakers fan says LeBron James duped him into shopping for dear tickets – NBC Los Angeles
An extended-time Lakers fan stated he thought he was shopping for tickets to witness historical past when he ecstatically forked over a whole bunch of {dollars} for tickets to a sport after listening to LeBron James was about to make what was billed because the “choice of all choices.”
Andrew Garcia, of Norwalk, took that cryptic language as an indication — one of many NBA’s best gamers would retire on the finish of the season. Garcia rapidly snapped up two tickets to the late-season March 31, 2026 Lakers-Cavaliers sport, that includes James in opposition to his former crew.
However the announcement this week, teased in a social media publish as hypothesis swirls round James’ future after the upcoming season, wasn’t about retirement. The longer term corridor of famer introduced Tuesday the Hennessy V.S.O.P Restricted Version by LeBron James, obtainable in choose markets worldwide this month.
In a publish Monday tagged #TheSecondDecision, the Lakers’ 21-time NBA All-Star stated “The choice of all choices” could be introduced the subsequent morning. The hashtag on the open-ended publish and video had been obvious references to the much-hyped 2010 announcement that he was leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers to play for the Miami Warmth. The announcement was a part of an ESPN particular titled, “The Determination.”
After seeing the publish, Garcia quickly unfold the phrase amongst these he knew — he had tickets to what he thought on the time could be certainly one of James’ final video games.
“The subsequent day comes, and he isn’t retiring,” Garcia stated. “They’re all speaking crap to me.”
On Wednesday, Garcia filed a small claims courtroom lawsuit in Los Angeles County. It claims the defendant, the NBA’s all-time main scorer, owes Garcia $865.66 and accuses James of fraud, deception and misrepresentation.
Garcia stated it is not concerning the cash.
“Even when I misplaced this case, sticking as much as LeBron James on principal is sufficient for me,” he stated.
A non-jury trial was scheduled for Dec. 1 on the Bellflower Courthouse.
NBC4 authorized analyst Royal Oakes stated the imprecise nature of the pre-announcement publish doesn’t look like the premise for a lawsuit.
“I’d guess some huge cash that it will merely be tossed out of courtroom,” stated Oakes.
Small Claims Court docket entails lawsuits in opposition to folks, enterprise or authorities that the plaintiff believes owes them cash. Usually, small claims instances don’t exceed greater than $12,500.
NBCLA reached out the Lakers and James’ reps for remark. Coach JJ Redick was requested Tuesday concerning the announcement.
“You guys are idiots,” Redick stated with a smile. “All of us knew it wasn’t occurring… No one was freaking out.”
As for James, he’ll apparently be sidelined for a minimum of three to 4 weeks with sciatica on his proper facet to begin the season.
James, 40, and the Lakers open the common season Oct. 21 at house in opposition to the Warriors, embarking on the crew’s first full season with All-Star Luka Dončić. The King, who will flip 41 in December, enters the season tied with Vince Carter for many NBA seasons performed at 22.
He was requested about retirement — #TheThirdDecision? — in September and easily stated he was excited to play his twenty third season. James has acknowledged that his taking part in days are nearing an finish, however has not supplied specifics on a timeline for retirement.
James averaged 24.4 factors, 8.2 assists and seven.8 rebounds final season. The Lakers had been bounced within the first spherical of the playoffs by the Minnesota Timberwolves. The league’s all-time main scorer earned All-NBA Second Staff honors for the 2024-25 season.
He enters the 2025-26 season on an expiring contract and is about to turn into an unrestricted free agent within the spring.
