NHL's Jets, PGA Tour roast Heat for LeBron James mishap

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

NHL's Jets, PGA Tour roast Heat for LeBron James mishap

By Clark Dalton | Last updated Jul 22, 2026 4:38 PM ET

The Miami Heat are now regretting their LeBron James mishap even more.

Late Tuesday night, the Heat's YouTube channel shared a video titled "LeBron James Introductory News Conference," scheduled for July 27. Excited Miami fans thought it had leaked that the free-agent forward is returning to South Beach, where he played from 2010-14. Turns out it was a mistake.

A team spokesperson said it was preparing for the possibility that James would sign with Miami, and that the video was accidentally posted. It has since been deleted. Other sports entities poked fun at the Heat for the blunder on Wednesday.

PGA Tour, Winnipeg Jets troll Miami Heat

The Jets posted a photoshopped image of James in a Winnipeg jersey as the thumbnail for a mock introductory news conference on Wednesday morning. They also included a YouTube link. "Just kidding," the description said.

The Winnipeg Jets’s official YouTube channel has LeBron’s introductory press conference scheduled for July 27

(h/t @TheNBACentel / https://t.co/OuWxM9vcKs) pic.twitter.com/W7cs3hJsSX
— Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets) July 22, 2026

Hours later, the PGA Tour joined in. It posted an image of James wearing a hat with his signature logo on it and a red polo shirt.

pic.twitter.com/6cdt6aH6N3
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 22, 2026

James should get a kick out of the PGA's post. "The King" is a huge golf fan. Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry used the San Francisco Bay Area's courses as a selling point while recently recruiting the four-time league MVP.

One person who won't find this amusing is Heat president Pat Riley. On Monday, he said he's not constantly calling James or his agent, Rich Paul. Tuesday's incident isn't what he had in mind.

It remains unclear when James will announce where he will play his 24th NBA season. He's continuing to take his sweet old time while mulling offers from the Heat, Warriors, Cleveland Cavaliers and Philadelphia 76ers.

All of these teams' social media departments should wait before creating graphics or other content until James makes his decision official. They don't want to get burned on social media for a similar mishap to the Heat's.

Clark Dalton

Clark Dalton is a 2022 journalism graduate of the University of Texas at Austin. He gained experience in sports media over the past seven years — from live broadcasting and creating short films to podcasting and producing. In college, he wrote for The Daily Texan. He loves sports and enjoys hiking, kayaking and camping.

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