LeBron James is off the hook after fan ends ‘Second Decision’ lawsuit
LeBron James no longer has to worry about having to appear in small claims court over the hundreds of dollars a Lakers fan spent on tickets when he was under the impression the superstar player was retiring at the end of the season.
Norwalk resident Andrew Garcia on Monday filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court dismissing without prejudice a claim he filed earlier this month seeking to get his money back after a big announcement James teased on social media ultimately had nothing to do with his NBA career, now entering its 23rd season, nearing its end.
Garcia said Monday that he decided to drop the deal after accepting an offer from fantasy sports app PrizePicks. The company deposited promotional funds amounting to $865.66 — the total amount Garcia spent on two tickets to the Lakers’ game against the Cleveland Cavaliers on March 31, 2026 — into Garcia’s PrizePicks account, according to documentation viewed by the Times.
Garcia said he would be able to cash out any winnings he received from these transactions. Additionally, he said, PrizePicks will give him tickets to a Lakers game of his choice and other merchandise.
“I didn’t need to dismiss the case” to get PrizePicks’ agreement, Garcia said, “but I chose to, because I was like, you know, you’re fully compensating me for my loss, and then some. There’s no reason for me to pursue this, because then it looks like I’m double dipping, you know?”
PrizePicks vice president of communications Elisa Richardson confirmed the deal in an email to The Times.
“We contacted Andrew after seeing the news and discovering he was a PrizePicks player,” Richardson wrote. “We are always looking for ways to surprise and delight our players.”
On October 6, James posted on social media that he would announce “the decision of all decisions” the following day. The NBA’s all-time leading scorer also included a music video teasing “The Second Decision,” a reference to 2010’s “The Decision,” in which James announced his intention to play for the Miami Heat.
Garcia wasn’t the only person who thought a retirement announcement was imminent — nor was he the only one who wanted to make sure he saw James on his farewell tour. According to Victory Live, which analyzes verified secondary market ticket resale data, ticket sales for Lakers games jumped 25 times after the release of James’ teaser and the average price of those tickets increased from $280 to $399.
Sales and ticket prices returned to normal shortly after it was revealed that “The Second Decision” was nothing more than a Hennessy commercial. In his lawsuit, Garcia claimed that James owed him the amount paid for the tickets due to “fraud, deception, misrepresentation and any basis for legal collection.”
