The Miami Heat have reclaimed the lead in Kalshi's market for LeBron James' next team after the club briefly posted, then deleted, a YouTube link for a supposed introductory press conference.
Miami leads the market for James' next team at 49%, followed by the Cleveland Cavaliers at 27%, and the Golden State Warriors at 14%.
The Miami Heat
The latest development, a social media slip on the team's YouTube page, appeared to push Miami's market price higher.
ESPN reported that someone on the Heat’s social media team accidentally posted a link on Tuesday to a scheduled livestream called “LeBron James Introductory Press Conference” dated for July 27 on the team’s YouTube channel.
A team spokesperson explained that the Heat’s social media team was just preparing for “the possibility of James’ signing and mistakenly posted the link to the team’s YouTube page. The post was later deleted.”
The scheduled date on the post fueled online speculation. The Miami Herald's Anthony Chiang reported that a team spokesperson said there was no validity to the video and that the date was not significant.
Chiang noted that Heat president Pat Riley is traveling at the moment and he’s “not expected back in Miami until August. Riley is usually at the Heat’s introductory press conferences, especially for players of James’ caliber.”
Riley told ESPN he does not know whether James will choose Miami, but made clear the door is open.
“I don’t know, I’ll be honest with you,” Riley said. “Obviously, we’ve had conversations with Rich and they were very good. So if that happens and he wants to come to the ‘305,’ we got a golf course. The weather’s nice. Steve Kerr, same thing down here. And there’s no state tax. So that’s a little better than California.”
The Cleveland Cavaliers
The market looked very different just 24 hours earlier. Cleveland had topped the Kalshi market over Miami by just three percentage points.
The market seemed to be driven by statements delivered by James’ agent Rich Paul on his “Game Over” podcast with Max Kellerman. Paul said that all the teams interested in signing James for his final NBA season had done everything they could do to convince him.
“There’s been several people to call and say, ‘Hey, Rich, is there anything more we should be doing? We could be doing?’” Paul said. “And my answer is, ‘No. We don’t need you to go above and beyond about anything. We understand it. It’s clear. All the messages have been sent.’”
When will he decide?
Paul also suggested that James' timetable remains uncertain.
“I don’t know when his choice is going to be made,” Paul added on his podcast. “It could be 48 seconds, it could be 48 minutes, I don’t know. Again, you can’t make somebody know something they don’t know.”
The takeaway:
Kalshi markets now predict:
Follow Kalshi on X: @Kalshi | Image Source: Erik Drost
This article may contain content generated with the assistance of artificial intelligence. The opinions and perspectives presented in this article belong solely to the author. This is not financial advice. Trading on Kalshi involves risk and may not be appropriate for all. Members risk losing their cost to enter any transaction, including fees. You should carefully consider whether trading on Kalshi is appropriate for you in light of your investment experience and financial resources. Any trading decisions you make are solely your responsibility and at your own risk. Information is provided for convenience only on an "AS IS" basis. Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. Kalshi is subject to U.S. regulatory oversight by the CFTC. Kalshi is not affiliated with the NBA.
