LeBron James — the Cleveland Cavaliers superstar and super-coveted NBA free agent — joined Twitter on Tuesday.
Using the handle “@KingJames” and descriptor “King of Akron,” James already has more than 62,000 followers. (James is not following anyone, and has yet to post a tweet.)
Keith Estabrook, James' publicist, confirmed it is indeed James' account.
The timing of James joining Twitterville has fueled speculation that he may announce his signing (with New York, Cleveland, Miami, New Jersey or elsewhere) via the social messaging service.
Players leaking sports news is not unprecedented. James' former Cavs teammate Shaquille O'Neal is a prolific Twitter user boasting nearly 3 million followers. Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh, a pair of other coveted free agents, have relatively lively Twitter accounts.
Last week, the NBA itself paid Twitter to make “LeBron James” a trending topic that linked to the following “promoted tweet”:
For all your LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and other NBA Free Agency updates check out Decision 2010 on NBA.com http://bit.ly/924XL9
At the moment, James is expected to sign by Thursday.
UPDATE: Here's James' first tweet, replate with incorrect capitalization:
Hello World, the Real King James is in the Building "Finally". My Brother @oneandonlycp3 gas'd me up to jump on board so I'm here. Haaaa
