Hours after the Miami Heat made an apparent mistake among the boiling anticipation of where LeBron James will sign, the franchise has become fodder for jokes beyond the NBA.
Late Tuesday night, the Heat posted a link to a scheduled livestream entitled “LeBron James Introductory Press Conference” that was timestamped for July 27 to the team’s YouTube channel. It has since been deleted.
A spokesperson for the Heat told ESPN’s Shams Charania that the team was preparing for the possibility in case James signed with Miami and mistakenly posted on the franchise’s channel.
Other teams saw the mistake as an opportunity to capitalize on the error.
On Wednesday morning, the Winnipeg Jets poked fun at the posting, with a James news conference of their own.
The Winnipeg Jets’s official YouTube channel has LeBron’s introductory press conference scheduled for July 27 🤔
(h/t @TheNBACentel / https://t.co/OuWxM9vcKs) pic.twitter.com/W7cs3hJsSX
— Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets) July 22, 2026
The team also created a live post to YouTube with the same title, with a tag that suggests the post will go live at 12:23 p.m. local time on July 27.
Winnipeg also created a thumbnail that pictures James in a Jets jersey with “LePress Conference” and the message: “Note to self: Don’t upload this yet!”
Fans in the live chat were making comments such as “LeWinnipegJets” and “LeHockey.”
The Philadelphia Police Department also got in on the fun with a mock news conference of their own.
James, who is entering his 24th season, is an unrestricted free agent for the first time since signing with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2018. Teams such as the Cleveland Cavaliers, Philadelphia 76ers and Heat are believed to be the front-runners to land the 41-year-old, with the Golden State Warriors also emerging as a potential landing spot.
