Lebron James Is Teasing a "Second Decision," but What Does That Mean? Is He Actually Retiring?

Over the course of NBA history, there are only a handful of players who have meant more to the league than Lebron James. The basketball legend is getting ready to enter his 23rd season in the league and has now spent more years playing in the NBA than he has doing anything else.

Ahead of his 23rd season, though, the NBA icon teased a "second decision" on his Instagram page that has some wondering whether one of basketball's all-time greats is getting ready to retire. Here's what we know.

We don't actually know. His Instagram post teased "the decision of all decisions," and said that he would explain what that meant at noon EST on Oct. 7. Given that he is now the oldest player in the NBA, and will turn 41 during this season, many are naturally wondering whether Lebron might be announcing his retirement from the league, and ticket prices for Lakers games have soared following the tease.

It's worth noting, though, that Lebron has said quite recently that he's not sure exactly when he might hang up his basketball shoes for the last time.

“I’m excited about the opportunity to be able to play the game that I love for another season,” Lebron said during the Lakers' media day on Sept. 29, per USA Today. “However the journey lays out this year, I’m super-invested, because I don’t know when the end is. I know it’s a lot sooner than later.”

Fans have also speculated that Lebron could be announcing his plans to seek a trade, or, perhaps most likely, that this is some sort of branded event meant to take advantage of people's concerns that Lebron could be retiring.

The suggestion of a sequel to The Decision puts many people in mind of his original decision, which came ahead of the 2010-2011 season, when he announced that he would be leaving the Cavaliers to play for the Miami Heat.

Given that Lebron is a brand ambassador for Pepsi, Draft Kings, and Nike, and has also partnered with Amazon, most people suspect that this tease is just a way to get people hyped up for what will turn out to be an advertisement.

Given that Oct. 7 is also the launch of Amazon's Prime Day, many suspect that this announcement will have something to do with Amazon.

This wouldn't be the first time that Lebron has used the threat of his retirement to promote Amazon. Back in July, for the company's last Prime Day, he did a similar advertisement in which he seemed to tease that he would be retiring, only to reveal that he was actually promoting Amazon.

While it makes sense that Lebron is partnering with major brands, teasing his retirement repeatedly is only going to make it harder for us to believe it when he actually says that he's quitting for good. When that day does come, though, it will be a major moment in the history of basketball.