LeBron James has finally addressed his unusual travel arrangement between New York and Philadelphia, playing down questions surrounding his use of a private helicopter to attend 76ers practices and games.
The 41-year-old has been commuting between the two cities throughout the preseason, with the arrangement reportedly connected to his endorsement partnership with Fanatics.
“Yeah, I’ve done it before,” James said following Philadelphia’s 125-120 preseason loss to the Boston Celtics, according to ESPN’s Kris Rhim.
“Just another way of transportation. Yeah, that’s all.”
The helicopter reportedly cuts James’ commute to approximately 30 to 45 minutes, significantly quicker than traveling between the cities by car.
The arrangement stems from a multi-year trading card agreement James signed with Fanatics in January 2024, which includes access to the company’s corporate aviation services, according to Front Office Sports.
“The deal we signed with Fanatics almost three years ago includes access to their corporate aviation,” a spokesperson for James told Front Office Sports. “It’s a feature in many of their deals with their largest athletes and we appreciate their partnership as LeBron splits his time between New York and Philadelphia.”
However, the arrangement has attracted attention following James’ decision to leave the Los Angeles Lakers and sign a two-year, $8 million contract with Philadelphia.
Fanatics owner Michael Rubin previously held an ownership stake in the 76ers before selling his shares in 2022, raising questions about the relationship between James’ endorsement agreement and his new team.
Investigative journalist Pablo Torre has since examined the arrangement on his show, Pablo Torre Finds Out, although he stopped short of suggesting any NBA salary cap violations had occurred.
“This is not me alleging this is cap circumvention; it is, though, me pointing out, this is pretty funny,” Torre said. “It is a pretty funny series of apparent coincidences for a helicopter that lots of people have been asking questions about.”
Despite the scrutiny, there has been no established evidence of wrongdoing involving James, Fanatics or the 76ers.
For James, the focus now shifts toward his NBA-record 24th season as Philadelphia prepares to open its regular-season campaign against the defending champion New York Knicks on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden.
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