LeBron James teased a coming partnership with Polymarket on Saturday, posting a 14-second video to social media that showed him in an office elevator with floors labeled with names including politics, crypto, culture, weather and sports. The video ended with James smiling as he stepped off on the sports floor.
"Welcome to Polymarket HQ. Coming soon," James wrote as a caption for the post.
No additional details about the partnership were disclosed at the time of posting. The Athletic reported that it received a release from Polymarket stating more announcements would come on Tuesday.
The deal would make James the first NBA player to sign with Polymarket. The four-time champion and founder of the SpringHill Company production banner is entering his 24th season in the league. He joins a growing list of athletes and celebrities connecting themselves to the prediction market space. Giannis Antetokounmpo announced a direct investment in rival platform Kalshi in February. Tennis star Maria Sharapova has signed with Polymarket. Soccer player Lionel Messi signed with Kalshi. In June, actor Timothee Chalamet appeared in a one-minute ad for Kalshi. In January, the Golden Globes broadcast featured an on-air partnership with Polymarket, displaying win probabilities for nominees that users could buy and sell predictions on.
The partnership arrives at a complicated moment for the industry. According to The Wrap, the union representing New York Times staffers urged the company against a now-abandoned planned partnership with Kalshi, warning it could compromise journalistic independence. The state of New Jersey also petitioned the Supreme Court to rule on whether states can regulate sports betting on prediction markets, following a 9th Circuit appeals court ruling that Nevada can stop Kalshi from allowing sports bets.
"Companies like Kalshi claim to offer legal sports betting in all 50 states, but they refuse to follow the gambling laws of any state," New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport wrote in a press release announcing the lawsuit.
Further announcements from James and Polymarket are expected Tuesday.
