NBA star LeBron James has formed a new partnership with Polymarket to mark the latest professional athlete-prediction market collaboration, helping to promote the operator’s new headquarters in New York.
Within the social spot, James is not the only professional athlete to make an appearance, as former NFL players Eli Manning, Reggie Bush and Richard Sherman all take part in the promotion.
Filmmaker Spike Lee – who is well-known as an avid New York sports fan – is also included within the advertisement, appearing alongside MLB star Derek Jeter and former NBA athlete Rajon Rondo.
The New York headquarters may be particularly notable given James recently signed a new contract with the neighboring Philadelphia 76ers, although Polymarket has yet to confirm additional details of the collaboration.
James has faced some backlash from NBA fans and media personnel after announcing the partnership, as he was previously quoted speaking out against how much gambling has become a part of professional sports.
"I mean, it's weird that some of our regular fans that love the game kind of only care about a parlay now. I guess that's the word everybody is using. It's kind of taken some of the integrity out of the game because people are kind of really only caring about the betting,” James said to the Los Angeles Times in November 2023.
"I mean, it's always (happened). I mean, listen, people have been betting on games since Arnold Rothstein set the bet … on the World Series (in 1919). Come on, come on. So, it's been going on for years. But it's legalized now. Is it legalized in every state now? The majority, right? I think it's in 38-plus states. So, I mean, to each his own."
In February, fellow NBA athlete Giannis Antetokounmpo became a shareholder in Kalshi and has since appeared in multiple television and social advertisements for the operator.
While neither Polymarket or Kalshi have yet to unveil an official partnership with the NBA, the basketball league did begin consider prediction market collaborations back in April.
Kalshi formed a new partnership with Oddpool on September 3 to help expand consumer access to its event contract markets, as confirmed by the affiliate’s Co-Founder Avi Arora
