EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsNEW YORK -- LeBron James finished off the fourth of four public appearances scheduled around the first two days of Fanatics Fest on Friday, and just like the three that came before it Thursday, James kept his upcoming free agency decision to himself.James appeared on stage at the Javits Center for a live taping of The Shop, his barbershop-style talk show, that concluded an eight-year run with James and his longtime friend and business partner, Maverick Carter, as its main co-hosts.Friday's episode, which featured tennis great Novak Djokovic and USA soccer standout Folarin Balogun as its guests, saw Carter and James hand over hosting duties to actor and rapper Travis Bennett and comedian Steelo Brim, who will continue the show moving forward.Just like Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton did Thursday during a live taping of the "Mind the Game" podcast with James, Brim implored James to share his decision with the audience of approximately 5,000 people.And once again, James did not indulge the question with an answer."We don't have an announcement to make just yet," James said, as a wide smile spread across his face as he sat cross-legged in his seat, wearing sunglasses and a baseball cap.As the crowd groaned and booed James' reluctance, Bennett chimed in."The whole world is waiting on this," Bennett said. "They're waiting to schedule the games."Bennett was referring to NBA commissioner Adam Silver openly pressing James to make up his mind while appearing at a separate event at Fanatics Fest on Thursday."Where LeBron plays will affect the schedule," Silver said at the CNBC Sport x Boardroom Game Plan Summit. "So, I would like him to make his announcement already, so we can finish the schedule. Because, as you might imagine, the teams are calling us, the networks are calling us, and everybody wants to lock in the schedule. ... It will influence how we set the schedule, how we set opening week, Christmas Day, etc., etc. So, I need him to make a decision."Multiple sources familiar with James' thinking told ESPN that James is truly close to making a decision. Like Silver, many league and team personnel ESPN has spoken to are hopeful that decision will come next week.While James didn't show his cards Friday, he didn't mind having some fun playing with the crowd anticipating his big news -- just as he had Thursday with Haliburton and later during a Game Plan conversation with Boardroom exec Rich Kleiman and at the Time 100 gala.When James was asked about the factors he is weighing to make his choice, he riled up some Philadelphia 76ers fans in the audience."Most important is I want to compete," James said. "I want to compete at a high level. I want to join a franchise that kind of shares the same motto as myself and that's practicing championship habits every day, but trusting the process more than anything ..."As soon as James uttered "trust the process," which was the mantra of former Sixers president and general manager Sam Hinkie when he guided the franchise through a rebuild from 2013-16 -- and later adopted as a self-appointed nickname by Joel "The Process" Embiid -- a mix of cheers from Philly fans and boos from those hoping James would pick their team filled the room.James seemed bemused by it all."I've been saying 'trust the process' since I was drafted in like 2003," James said. "I don't know if Embiid was even born yet."James said the NBA's recent trend of eight different champions in the past eight seasons means there will be no guarantee of securing a fifth title for his rsum no matter where he goes."There's been eight straight years of different champions," James said. "So everyone feels coming into the season, thinking, 'This could be our year.' Every fan base feels like this could be our year as well."James did, once again, hint that he will give himself more than one chance to win another ring, though. While the 41-year-old star has already played a record 23 seasons, he continued to talk about the upcoming 2026-27 season as if it would not be his last go-round and farewell tour."In sports, there's always conversations, like, 'When is he going to retire? He needs to retire. He's this age. He's that age,'" James said while sharing the stage with the 39-year-old Djokovic. "But, why? Why? Why are we trying to force people that are still doing what they do at a high level, why are we trying to force a narrative of it's time to retire?"You look at guys like Bruce Springsteen and some of the greatest musicians, The [Rolling] Stones, they've been on tour for 50, 60 years! And no one is telling them, 'Hey, don't come to our city and do a tour.' So, if we still our dedicating ourselves to the craft, if we are still giving to the sport, if we're not disrespecting the game and we're giving everything that have to the sport and we're still driving revenue as well, why not? Why can't I still play it if I still love it?"So, I'm just trying to squeeze as much of the juice out of it as possible."
