Monday morning started with a confusing beginning for those clicking on that LeBron James notification. The Los Angeles Lakers megastar dropped a cryptic post titled The Second Decision, and fans froze. After all, retirement talk has rumbled around James all offseason. Was this finally the end for the King?

The tension built for hours, and the internet dissected all possible angles of the teaser. Even his Lakers teammates were caught in the storm of speculation. Austin Reaves told reporters later, “Yeah, I mean, obviously, I think it had the world by hold for whenever he released it,” revealing that he “got a couple calls, like, ‘What is this?’” as various teammates reached out, unsure about what LeBron had just announced.

Lakers forward Rui Hachimura wasn’t immune to the hype. “Yeah, I mean, a couple of texts, but I text him too,” Rui admitted in an interview. After being asked if he reached out just to be sure, he laughed, “Yeah… just to make sure.” The reply from LeBron, though, didn’t help much. “He’s using those weird emojis. I don’t even know what that means. I didn’t understand it at all,” Rui said, shaking his head. “But yeah, he loves to do those kinds of stuff. Surprises, right?”

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Of course, it turned out to be a combination between a prank and a pitch. “The decision of all decisions” turned out to be an ad campaign for LeBron’s Hennessy collaboration, filled with sly references to his infamous 2010 ESPN special, where he announced his exit from the Cleveland Cavaliers. James even mirrored his announcement from the original, saying, “This fall, I’m going to be taking my talents to Hennessy V.S.O.P.”

After a few hours, this was all everyone could talk about, with ticket prices for LeBron’s final regular season game against the Utah Jazz soaring. James had, once again, taken over the entire sports world without saying more than a sentence about basketball. Lakers head coach JJ Redick also had something to say about the announcement.

JJ Redick’s Veteran Read on LeBron’s Media Game

Sophomore head coach JJ Redick, a longtime media veteran before taking the Lakers coaching gig, didn’t seem to be fooled. Being interviewed by reporters at camp, he said, smirking, “You guys are idiots,” adding on that, “We all knew it was an ad, right?”

Even after the interviewer told him that he had received quite a few texts, saying, “I’m sure I got a lot of texts. Did you get a lot of ones?” Redick seemed to shrug it off, saying “No. I mean, I think most people that text me are also aware that it’s probably an ad. Nobody was freaking out.”

Redick’s calm demeanor, as well as a refusal to get carried away with the hype James generated, just speaks to his readiness and sharpness as a mind. He’s seen enough to know that LeBron’s just as tapped into media instincts as he is with his basketball IQ. When LeBron posts cryptically, it’s a setup, not a goodbye.