LeBron James gets lambasted for 'cringey' marketing ploy

"Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me," were probably the words fans muttered to themselves after watching LeBron James trick them into yet another fake retirement announcement this week — all just to promote a liquor brand. 

Earlier this year, James similarly teased retirement through a campaign, which turned out to be an ad for Amazon Prime Day.

Stephen A. Smith rips LeBron James

ESPN's Stephen A. Smith has lashed out at the Los Angeles Lakers star for resorting to cheap tactics while using his NBA career as bait.

"This was corny as hell, it was cringey," Smith told "First Take" of James' ad. "You're promoting an alcoholic beverage and trying to give people the impression that this could be your final season...I can't believe one of the greatest players who ever lived would stoop to such a level, trying to garner attention for himself with something other than trying to win a championship."

Smith cited the Lakers' recent postseason struggles — including a first-round loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves last season — as the reason why James must realign his priorities and focus more on winning. 

Is LeBron James starved for attention?

In the lead-up to the commercial, James promoted it as "The Second Decision," referencing his notorious "The Decision" telecast in July 2010, where he revealed his decision to sign with the Miami Heat.

James was widely criticized 15 years ago for revealing his free-agency decision through a live telecast. As such, Smith felt that James likely further infuriated fans by reinforcing the blunder.

"If you make a bad movie, you typically don't have a sequel," Smith said. "So if you look at 'The Decision' and the manner in which that was handled, you would think he wouldn’t want to remind people of that. Unfortunately, he was tone-deaf."

Smith doubled on his criticism by suggesting that James would go to any lengths just to garner attention. 

"Attention, attention, attention — what are you striving for attention for?" he said on his podcast. "Why? Because Hennessy paid you?"

James can silence his critics in the 2025-26 campaign, where he will become the first player in NBA history to play a 23rd season. The 40-year-old can also clinch notable personal milestones, including the records for most regular-season games and field goals made.