EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsNEW YORK -- Making his first public appearance since he informed the Los Angeles Lakers he would be leaving to join another team via free agency, LeBron James did not reveal his decision Thursday at a live taping of his podcast at Fanatics Fest, the annual sports lifestyle festival.It's not that Tyrese Haliburton, the guest co-host for the "Mind the Game" podcast -- and the crowd -- didn't try to pry it out of him."Is there a decision that still has to be made?" Haliburton asked, just minutes into the program in front of a crowd of about 5,000 people gathered in front of the stage at the Javits Center.James didn't bite."We literally talked about this in the back, Rese," James said, reiterating that revealing his next team would not be on the agenda."OK, my fault, my fault," Haliburton replied. "I didn't know if you wanted to ... OK, OK, I'll leave it alone."Since James' agent and the CEO of Klutch Sports, Rich Paul, informed the Lakers more than two weeks ago that James would be moving on, the 41-year-old star has been courted by many teams and players to join up next season.Haliburton, who led the Indiana Pacers to the 2025 NBA Finals before tearing his Achilles in Game 7 and missing all of last season to rehabilitate, was one of them."I texted Bron maybe a month ago, before he even made his decision to leave L.A. and I said, 'Hey, if you want to come to Indiana, we can make something crack,'" Haliburton recalled."And he texted me back two laughing/crying faces and that's all I got. So, I decided from then on that I'm done pursuing him in free agency. I don't know if it's going to happen with Indiana."A handful of teams are very much still in the pursuit however, sources told ESPN, with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat, Philadelphia 76ers and Golden State Warriors among them.While James did not offer many clues about his future -- other than showing up with a freshly dyed beard and suggesting that he could play not only a record-setting 24th season with his new team, but possibly a 25th, too -- he did offer his first extensive thoughts on his former team."Shoutout my former team, I spent eight great years with the Los Angeles Lakers," James said. "One of the most historical franchises in the world. Shoutout Jeanie Buss, the whole Buss family. Rob Pelinka. Everybody. All the coaches that I played for there. All my teammates. S---, I am going to miss them all, obviously. So, that was an unbelievable ride and I'm just looking forward to what holds next as I wind down the final stages of my journey."While James gave his remarks on the Lakers, his former coach -- and "Mind the Game" co-host -- JJ Redick was sitting in the first row in front of the stage, attending Fanatics Fest with his two sons, Kai and Knox, who both collect sports memorabilia."So, wherever I land in the fall, hopefully you're ride-or-die LeBron fans if you've been down with me since day one, I hope you ride with me there," James said. "If you're a ride-or-die LeBron hater, that's what you do anyway. So, I'm looking forward to seeing you as well."But it's going to be pretty fun. It's going to be pretty fun. Wherever I land, I'm going to do what I do best."
