Most workers complain about traffic on the way to the office. LeBron James skips the traffic entirely — and that is exactly what has people talking.
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| Lebron at the Paris Olympics; CC BY-SA 4.0 |
The 41-year-old superstar is about to begin his first season with the Philadelphia 76ers, but he is not living in Philadelphia. James is keeping his home in New York and flying to work, turning a drive of roughly two hours into a helicopter ride of about 40 minutes.
After Friday night's preseason finale against the Boston Celtics, reporters finally asked him about the arrangement that has dominated NBA chatter for weeks. His answer was about as dramatic as a weather report.
"Yeah, I've done it before," James said. "Just another way of transportation. That's all."
How the LeBron James Helicopter Commute Actually Works
The daily routine behind the helicopter commute is more practical than it sounds. The 76ers practice at their training facility in Camden, New Jersey, and the helicopter lands on a pad on top of the team's business offices, right next door to the practice building.
James splits his time between New York and Philadelphia during the season rather than relocating full-time. The flight cuts a commute that can stretch to two hours on the road — longer on a bad traffic day — down to roughly 40 minutes in the air.
And whatever fans think of the optics, nobody can accuse him of coasting. Teammate V.J. Edgecombe told ESPN that James is in the building around 7:45 in the morning, ahead of every other player on the roster. "He was in there before everybody," Edgecombe said. "As usual."
James also has company in the sky. Sixers managing partner Josh Harris, the team's primary owner, commutes by helicopter too.
The Fanatics Deal Paying for the Flights
The rides are not coming out of the team's travel budget. James has access to the chopper through his endorsement partnership with Fanatics, the sports apparel and merchandise giant. According to reporting from Front Office Sports and TMZ Sports, the agreement gives him use of Fanatics aviation, including the helicopter.
"The deal we signed with Fanatics almost three years ago includes access to their corporate aviation," a spokesperson for James told Front Office Sports earlier this month. "It's a feature in many of their deals with their largest athletes, and we appreciate their partnership as LeBron splits his time between New York and Philadelphia."
The arrangement has drawn scrutiny as well as jokes. Helicopters bearing Fanatics logos have been spotted on the route, and investigative journalist Pablo Torre has said he plans to dig into the setup on his show, Pablo Torre Finds Out. The criticism centers on the money and the environmental cost of daily private flights — flights James is receiving for free as part of the endorsement deal.
Why the Helicopter Commute Makes Fans Uneasy
Part of the reaction has nothing to do with money. For many basketball fans, any story about an NBA star and a helicopter carries the shadow of Kobe Bryant's death, and that history makes the topic feel heavier than a normal celebrity travel story.
Others question whether a player should live in a different city from his team at all. But the New York-to-Philadelphia arrangement is not new in the league. Former 76ers guard JJ Redick, now the head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, lived in New York during his time with the Sixers and made the same trip by car service. James has simply traded the two-hour drive for a 40-minute flight.
James, for his part, showed no interest in changing his plans or in feeding the debate. His comments Friday were short, calm, and final: he has done this before, it is transportation, and that is all.
A Shorter Trip for the Season Opener Against the New York Knicks
The commute talk will quiet down quickly once the games count. James makes his official 76ers debut on Tuesday, October 20, and the trip is an easy one — Philadelphia opens the regular season on the road against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden, with tip-off at 7 p.m. Eastern on NBC and Peacock.
It is a marquee opener: ring night for the Knicks, in the city James calls home, with the whole league watching. He will travel with his teammates for that one, which makes it the shortest and least controversial commute of his season.
After that, it is back to the helicopter — early mornings in Camden, 40 minutes above the traffic, and a superstar who clearly is not losing any sleep over how he gets to work. For more sports news like this, keep it locked here.
