{"id":13480,"date":"2026-07-22T10:32:23","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T05:32:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=13480"},"modified":"2026-07-22T10:32:23","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T05:32:23","slug":"did-heats-youtube-account-spoil-lebrons-free-agency-decision","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=13480","title":{"rendered":"Did Heat&#8217;s YouTube account spoil LeBron&#8217;s free agency decision?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div xmlns:default=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n<p>Is LeBron James taking his talents back to South Beach? <\/p>\n<p>What appears to be a mistake by one team might have spoiled the fun \u2014 or maybe not. <\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module alignleft\">\n\t<\/aside>\n<p>The Heat\u2019s YouTube page published and then quickly deleted a video titled \u201cLeBron James Introductory press conference\u201d along with the date of July 27, 2026. <\/p>\n<p>However, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.miamiherald.com\/sports\/nba\/miami-heat\/article316603817.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Miami Herald reported<\/a> that the team\u2019s social media department accidentally published the video, which was being prepared <em>in case <\/em>he did sign with the Heat, not that the team had notice of James\u2019 actual decision.<\/p>\n<p>James, as of the early hours on Wednesday morning, has not yet officially made his <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/07\/21\/sports\/lebron-james-has-nba-and-lakers-in-a-holding-pattern\/\">highly anticipated choice in free agency<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>The 41-year-old\u2019s next move has been speculated on for weeks since it became clear he was not returning to the Lakers, and this inadvertent posting of a video to the web has only added fuel to the fire. <\/p>\n<p>In the summer of 2010, James famously took part in \u201cThe Decision\u201d that aired on ESPN, where he announced he would be leaving his hometown Cavaliers for the Heat. <\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-primary-tag\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>James played four seasons with the Heat, winning two NBA Finals crowns and taking home his third and fourth league MVP awards. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-x wp-block-embed-x\"\/>\n<p>A return to Miami would make a lot of sense, particularly if he wants to win his fifth championship ring. The Heat made the blockbuster move of the offseason when they struck a deal with the Bucks to landed Giannis Antetokounmpo in a trade.<\/p>\n<p>James\u2019 agent, <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/07\/21\/sports\/rich-paul-updates-timeframe-for-lebron-james-free-agency-decision\/\">Rich Paul, said on his \u201cGame Over\u201d podcast<\/a> that the 22-time All-Star won\u2019t be rushing into any choice, however. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><button class=\"button button--modal-trigger\" aria-label=\"Open the image in a modal.\" data-modal-image=\"40054050\"><br \/>\n\t<default:svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"icon-plus\" fill=\"#fff\" viewbox=\"0 0 1033 1000\" width=\"1em\" height=\"1em\"><default:path d=\"M380 364V0h273v355h380v290H653v355H380V645H0V355h380v9z\"\/><\/default:svg><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<img style=\"aspect-ratio:1.49926794;display:block\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-modal-image=\"40054050\" width=\"885\" height=\"590\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/20260203_NetsLakers_CS024.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers runs down court during the first half at Barclays Center, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026, in Brooklyn, NY. \" class=\"wp-image-40054050\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/20260203_NetsLakers_CS024.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 4000w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/20260203_NetsLakers_CS024.jpg?resize=300,200&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 300w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/20260203_NetsLakers_CS024.jpg?resize=768,512&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 768w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/20260203_NetsLakers_CS024.jpg?resize=1024,683&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, 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195w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/20260203_NetsLakers_CS024.jpg?resize=180,120&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 180w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/20260203_NetsLakers_CS024.jpg?resize=171,114&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 171w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/20260203_NetsLakers_CS024.jpg?resize=160,107&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 160w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/20260203_NetsLakers_CS024.jpg?resize=144,96&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 144w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/20260203_NetsLakers_CS024.jpg?resize=107,71&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 107w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/20260203_NetsLakers_CS024.jpg?resize=93,62&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 93w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/20260203_NetsLakers_CS024.jpg?resize=84,56&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 84w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/20260203_NetsLakers_CS024.jpg?resize=60,40&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 60w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/20260203_NetsLakers_CS024.jpg?resize=105,70&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 105w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/20260203_NetsLakers_CS024.jpg?resize=81,54&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 81w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/20260203_NetsLakers_CS024.jpg?resize=200,133&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 200w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/20260203_NetsLakers_CS024.jpg?resize=231,154&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 231w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/20260203_NetsLakers_CS024.jpg?resize=322,215&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 322w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/20260203_NetsLakers_CS024.jpg?resize=661,441&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 661w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/20260203_NetsLakers_CS024.jpg?resize=90,60&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 90w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/20260203_NetsLakers_CS024.jpg?resize=120,80&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 120w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/20260203_NetsLakers_CS024.jpg?resize=1200,800&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 1200w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/20260203_NetsLakers_CS024.jpg?resize=1038,692&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 1038w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/20260203_NetsLakers_CS024.jpg?resize=87,58&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 87w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/20260203_NetsLakers_CS024.jpg?resize=50,33&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 50w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 885px) 100vw, 885px\"\/><figcaption>LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers runs down court during the first half at Barclays Center, Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2026, in Brooklyn, NY.  <span class=\"credit\">Corey Sipkin for NY Post<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cHe has a choice to make. He has a business choice to make,\u201d Paul said. \u201cWe\u2019re not going to sit here and decide or allow someone else to decide when he makes that decision, or choice. It\u2019s a business choice he\u2019s making.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Heat, Cavaliers, Warriors and 76ers are among the teams rumored to be in the running for James\u2019 services.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Is LeBron James taking his talents back to South Beach? What appears to be a mistake by one team might have spoiled the fun \u2014 or maybe not. The Heat\u2019s YouTube page published and then quickly deleted a video titled \u201cLeBron James Introductory press conference\u201d along with the date of July 27, 2026. However, the&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13481,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/crop-40054050_bba23b.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1200","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13480","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-hub"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13480","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13480"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13480\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13481"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13480"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13480"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13480"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}