This is one of the least talked about moments in LeBron James history.
In real time it passed under the radar, but it contains a critical insight for understanding the factory and the brand called "King James": on July 1, 2018, immediately after the opening of the NBA's free market, LeBron arrived after four historic seasons in Cleveland, and the rumors and speculations were at boiling point.
Will it stay?
Maybe he will surprise and join Philadelphia?
no no.
Most likely he will move to the Lakers.
But not just "where".
Many wondered "how".
If in 2010 he announced his next step on the unfortunate "The Decision" broadcaster, and in 2014 announced his return to Cleveland in an interview with "Sports Illustrated" in the letter "I'm coming home", many wondered what he was preparing this time.
And then it happened.
No live TV show, no letter and no heartfelt interview.
Just a tweet.
Just like that.
Without many words, but significant.
When it comes to image management and public relations, when everyone thinks he's going to give a zig, LeBron and his team always know how to give the zag.
The tweet didn't even come from King's official account but from "Clutch Sports", the player agency of his friend-agent Rich Paul, which at the time had only 13 thousand followers and didn't even have a blue V sign.
The first to catch the story and blow it up was bomb-throwing journalist Adrian Wojnarowski.
But while many were busy with the "how" - not Woz, and like him, almost no one in the tens of thousands of reactions and retweets - nor in the columns and commentaries that followed the move - paid attention to the "what", the content of the laconic message.
LeBron James.
The man and the agenda, photo: AP
So here it is, word for word, we'll see if you pay attention: "LeBron James, four-time MVP, three-time Finals MVP, 14-time All-Star, and two-time Olympic gold medalist, has agreed to a 4-year, $154 million contract, With the Los Angeles Lakers."
The agenda machine
Piece of resume, huh?
Only one thing, so small, surely elusive, missing, unmentioned, stood out in its absence.
Well, what exactly is it?
Do you feel it too?
What achievement - or rather, three (as of 2018) - did LeBron, the celeb with the ever calculated PR system, simply omit? That's right, winning championships.
In many ways it just is.
For him, championships - the ultimate team success, the supreme goal of any sport - were never the goal, they were only a means.
Simply a tool in the service of the agenda machine that pushes the "greatest ever" message in every way possible.
You don't need any means.
A machine that, if necessary, will not even mention how many championships LeBron has.
Maybe because 3 is a number that does not serve the purpose.
And now, four years later, when he already has 4 championships, he announces a contract extension for another two years with the Lakers for $97 million, an amount that obviously stifles the club's salary structure and significantly reduces the chances of building another champion around him.
If more championships were his goal, it is clear that he would take less money - as countless superstars in many sports have done in the past - and make it easier for the club to build a squad for the title.
But he knows two things: 1. That the chances of that are not high anyway, 2. Even with one more championship, he is still "only" with 5. He gave up on reaching 6 (who said Michael Jordan?).
But what can you manage to do in two full seasons, with a staff that is not good enough that LeBron must throw as much as possible into the basket?
Yes - to improve the personal numbers, and ensure that he retires with the most points ever.
Therefore, those who carefully read that LeBron message from July 2018 knew exactly what was going to happen, because sometimes it's the space between the lines that tells the real story.
were we wrong
We will fix it!
If you found an error in the article, we would appreciate it if you shared it with us