LeBron James teases partnership with Polymarket

LeBron James announced an upcoming collaboration with Polymarket, joining a list of celebrities venturing into the prediction market industry. James posted a 14-second video to social media, showing him in an elevator at Polymarket headquarters with rooms labeled "politics," "crypto," "culture," and "weather." The video concluded with James smiling as he exits the "sports" floor.

The Athletic reports that additional details of the partnership will be disclosed on Tuesday. This marks James as the first NBA player to partner with Polymarket, although other athletes such as Giannis Antetokounmpo and Lionel Messi have signed deals with competing platforms Kalshi and Polymarket, respectively. Prediction markets have been expanding their reach beyond sports, with celebrities like Timothée Chalamet and Maria Sharapova also affiliated with such platforms.

However, prediction markets have faced criticism, with the Writers Guild of America urging The New York Times to abandon a partnership with Kalshi due to potential conflicts of interest. New Jersey recently filed a lawsuit against Kalshi, questioning the legality of sports betting on prediction markets across all 50 states.