LeBron James has become the first individual NBA player to sign a partnership with Polymarket, the crypto-based prediction market platform, the company confirmed after the basketball star teased the tie-up on social media.
James, who joined the Philadelphia 76ers as a free agent earlier this year, posted a 14-second video on X on Saturday showing him walking through a "Polymarket HQ" set, past elevator buttons labelled with market categories including politics, crypto and weather, before stepping out onto a floor marked "sports." "Welcome to Polymarket HQ. Coming soon. In partnership with @Polymarket," he wrote in the caption.
Polymarket replied to the post thanking James for the visit, referencing his GOAT nickname.
Terms undisclosed
Neither side has disclosed financial terms or the scope of James's role, and the deal is reported to make him the first NBA athlete to sign an individual agreement with the platform. Polymarket has said it hopes to draw on "James's love for the sport" as the football season approaches, according to a report by The Athletic, and both sides are expected to release further details on Tuesday.
Any commercial arrangement will need to sit within NBA rules governing players' financial interests in betting-related businesses, though the league itself is reported to be in separate talks with Polymarket.
Part of a wider push
The deal follows a run of sports partnerships for Polymarket, which has struck agreements with Major League Soccer, Major League Baseball and the National Hockey League, along with teams including the New York Yankees and New York Rangers. The company is restructuring its marketing operation under new leadership ahead of what it has called a busy fall sports calendar, and recently hired Travis VanderZanden, a former Uber and Lyft executive and founder of e-scooter firm Bird — as chief growth officer, with the brief of overseeing marketing.
James joins a growing roster of athletes aligning with prediction markets. Giannis Antetokounmpo, golfer Bryson DeChambeau and footballer Lionel Messi have already signed with rival platform Kalshi.
The tease has not gone entirely smoothly with fans: the post drew a wave of criticism online, with some questioning why James would align himself with a wagering-adjacent platform months after his own free-agency move generated heavy prediction-market betting volume.
