James hinted that he would join the 76ers! The internet celebrity "Hyperactive Brother" met James and got a photo with him.

On Friday, James made his final public appearance among the four scheduled within the first two days of Fanatics Fest. As with the prior three, he kept his free agent decision to himself.

He appeared on stage at the Javits Center for a live taping of the barbershop-style talk show "The Shop," which also marked the end of an eight-year journey co-hosted by James and his longtime friend and business partner Maverick Carter.

Friday's episode featured tennis superstar Novak Djokovic and American soccer star Folarin Balogun as guests. Carter and James handed over hosting duties to actor and rapper Travis Bennett and comedian Steelo Brim, who will continue to host the show.

Just as Tyrese Haliburton did on Thursday during the live recording of the "Mind the Game" podcast with James, Brim urged James to share his decision with the roughly 5,000 attendees. James again declined to answer the question.

James said, "I don't have any announcement to make yet."

He sat cross-legged in his seat, wearing sunglasses and a baseball cap, with a bright smile on his face.

When the crowd booed James' evasiveness, Bennett interjected, "The whole world is waiting for this. They're waiting to schedule the games."

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver publicly pressured James on Thursday at another Fanatics Fest event, hoping he would make a decision soon so the NBA could schedule the new season.

Multiple sources familiar with James' thinking told ESPN that he is indeed close to making a decision. Like Silver, many league and team personnel interviewed by ESPN hope the decision will come next week.

Although James did not reveal his hand on Friday, he didn't mind joking with the audience who were expecting a big announcement.

When James was asked what factors he was weighing in his decision, he sparked strong interest among some Philadelphia 76ers fans in the audience.

James said, "Most importantly, I want to compete. I want to compete at a high level. I want to join a team that shares the same creed as me—that is, to practice championship habits every day. But the most important thing is—Trust the process."

As soon as James finished speaking, "Trust the process"—the slogan used by the 76ers from 2013 to 2016, later adopted by Embiid as a nickname—immediately drew cheers from Philadelphia fans and boos from fans hoping James would choose their team.

James seemed to find all of this amusing.

People felt that James was hinting that he would join the 76ers.

James laughed and explained, "I've been saying 'trust the process' since I was drafted in 2003. I don't even know if Embiid was born back then."

James joked about Embiid; in fact, Embiid was already 9 years old in 2003. James noted that the NBA's trend of having eight different champions in the last eight seasons means that no matter where he goes, he cannot guarantee adding a fifth championship ring to his resume.

"There have been eight different champions in a row, so every team enters the season thinking, 'This could be our year.' Every fan base also feels that this could be their year."

However, James again hinted that he would give himself more than one chance to win another ring. Although the 41-year-old superstar has played a record 23 seasons, he spoke about the upcoming 2026-27 season as if it wouldn't be his last campaign and farewell tour.

He might play at least two more seasons.

James, on stage with the 39-year-old Djokovic, said, "In sports, there's always this discussion: 'When is he going to retire? He should retire. He's this age, he's that age.' But why? Why do we pressure people who are still performing at a high level doing what they're good at? Why do we force the narrative that it's time to retire?

"Look at guys like Bruce Springsteen, and some of the greatest musicians, the Rolling Stones—they've been touring for 50, 60 years! No one tells them, 'Hey, don't tour our city.' So, if we are still dedicated to the craft, if we are still giving to the sport, if we are not disrespecting the game, and we are giving it our all while also driving revenue, then why not?"

"If I still love it, why can't I keep playing? So I'm trying to squeeze every last bit of value out of it."

Predictably, we are fortunate to continue seeing James on the NBA court for the next two years.