LeBron James Sued Over ‘The Second Decision’ Announcement

A fan who spent hundreds of dollars for tickets to what he thought would be one of LeBron James’ final NBA games is looking to recoup the money in small claims court after it turned out “The Second Decision” teased by the Los Angeles Lakers superstar had nothing to do with his retirement.

Andrew Garcia Claims LeBron James Owes Him $865.66

According to Chuck Schilken of the Los Angeles Times, Norwalk resident Andrew Garcia filed a claim Tuesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, citing that James owes him $865.66 because of “fraud, deception, misrepresentation, and any and all basis of legal recovery.”

Garcia, 29, reportedly spent that amount for two tickets to the Lakers’ regular-season game against the Cleveland Cavaliers on March 31, 2026, at Crypto.com Arena, thinking it would be the James’ final matchup against the team that drafted him in 2003.

James fueled retirement rumors on Monday when he posted on X and Instagram that he would be announcing “the decision of all decisions” the next day.

The decision of all decisions. October 7th. 12pm EST. 🫡👑 #TheSecondDecision pic.twitter.com/1uop8sIU25

— LeBron James (@KingJames) October 6, 2025

The post included a video clip teasing “The Second Decision,” referencing “The Decision,” in which James famously announced he was going to “take my talents to South Beach” to play for the Miami Heat.

Garcia said he purchased the tickets within 10 minutes of James’ social media post.

“I was like, ‘Holy s—t, LeBron is going to retire! We’ve got to get tickets now,’” said Garcia. “Like, literally, because if he formally makes this announcement, you know, there’s gonna be some significant price changes, right?”

NBA Superstar’s Big Announcement Was Just An Ad

Garcia has been a longtime fan of the Lakers and James, so it would be an understatement to say that the news devastated him when the 21-time All-NBA member revealed it was just an ad.

Hennessy, the cognac brand partnered with James, made the announcement Tuesday.

“This fall, I’m going to be taking my talents to Hennessy V.S.O.P.,” James said in the clip.

The Decision has been made. Cheers to year 23.@KingJames #HennessyxLeBron #TheSecondDecision #HennessyVSOP pic.twitter.com/WnXMZTiEPS

— Hennessy (@Hennessy) October 7, 2025

Simply put, Garcia felt bamboozled.

“There is no circumstance absent him saying he’s gonna retire that I would have bought tickets that far in advance,” he said. “I mean, I buy tickets, but I don’t buy tickets five months in advance. I’m the kind of person that buys tickets five hours in advance. It was solely, solely, solely based on that. So that’s why I was really thinking, ‘You know what, this might be grounds for a case.’”

Garcia was hoping that the future Hall of Famer would finally announce a retirement date after winning four NBA championships, four NBA Finals MVPs, four league MVPs, receiving 21 All-Star selections, and becoming the league’s all-time leading scorer.

James, who turns 41 in December, is also entering his NBA-record 23rd season.

“Moments like that, I understand the value,” Garcia said. “There still may be some moderate value [to the tickets], however it’s not the same without him retiring. I remember Kobe’s last year, it was kind of what this would have been, per se, where every ticket was worth a lot. Every game had value.

“I missed out on that. I was a little bit younger at the time. And I obviously wasn’t in a position to where I could just buy tickets unfortunately at that age. I believe I was like 18 or 19 at the time. And that’s one of my biggest regrets as a sports fan. I really wish I could have gotten to Kobe’s last year. So I see this as a potential to kind of make up for what I lost with Kobe.”

A trial date has been set for Dec. 1.