Don’t tell the NBA referees, but LeBron James is traveling.
The super-sleuths at Reddit’s r/NBA subreddit scoured flight logs to find a private plane that went from Cleveland to Miami to Antigua this week, and on Saturday morning was headed to Los Angeles. While the logs didn’t have any information that identified the owner or whether LeBron was on board, the NBA superstar just happened to spend the last week on vacation in Antigua, USA Today noted.
That means LeBron will likely be in Los Angeles as the clock strikes midnight on July 1, which is when free agency starts. That is feeding into the rumors that James will be signing with the Lakers, a team that’s been considered a frontrunner to land LeBron for more than a year now. If LeBron is planning to make a quick decision about his free agency future, he’ll be making that announcement from Los Angeles.
LeBron James Risks It All To Jump Off A Cliff In Anguilla https://t.co/1hNhFvn4EA
— TMZ (@TMZ) June 30, 2018
There are still plenty of conflicting reports regarding LeBron James, who hasn’t given any public indication of what he plans to do. After opting out of his current contract with the Cavaliers, there are at least four teams strong in the running including the Cavs, Houston Rockets, Philadelphia 76ers, and Lakers.
. @KingJames ‘ next stop? pic.twitter.com/cm44tlC3C8
— ESPN (@espn) June 29, 2018
Following private flight logs to get to the bottom of sports rumors has become a popular pastime of investigative fans, especially on Reddit . The site’s r/NBA fans tracked the movements of Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert in 2014, as the team was angling to re-sign LeBron James for his return to Ohio. The denizens at the college football subreddit have also sharpened their investigative skills tracking coaching candidates for high-profile jobs, sometimes predicting who will be chosen based on which coach is headed to the campus at the time an announcement is being made.
As many have pointed out, it wouldn’t be unusual for LeBron James to be traveling to Los Angeles after his vacation ended, as he maintains an offseason home there and would likely be going there anyway. If he has a free agency decision sooner rather than later, however, it could be a strong indication that the Lakers will be the team to land him.
But the fans at r/NBA will likely be keeping an eye on the plane that (likely) brought LeBron James to Los Angeles to see if there are any stops in Houston, Philadelphia, or Cleveland. It’s not clear yet where LeBron might be traveling next.