NBA free agency recruitment has unofficially entered its next evolutionary phase. In this age of innovation and connectivity, it only makes sense that we’d seek to leverage every technological advancement at our disposal to lure superstar players to town. Which is why the hottest new free agency recruitment tool today is…billboards?
That’s right. Sixers fans made quite a splash last month when they paid for a series of billboards around the Cleveland area beckoning LeBron James to “Complete the Process” and sign with Philly this summer, to which some Cavs fans responded with, no kidding, a series of billboards of their own.
Maybe it has something to do with Martin McDonagh’s Oscar-winning film Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. That’s the only way to explain why a Lakers superfan has also joined the billboard-making fray with his own self-funded series of roadside messages for LeBron.
4 LeBron billboards are going up around LA today. These. A 3rd depicts Lakers retired jerseys with LeBron’s as the next one. A 4th says “Forget The Process, we win banners.” Bought by attorney, and Laker fan, Jacob Emrani. Cavs play Clippers & Lakers this week. pic.twitter.com/XaWLGN49pE
— Tania Ganguli (@taniaganguli) March 7, 2018
Personal-injury attorney Jacob Emrani, whose billboards naturally doubled as a discreet advertisement for his law firm, used the clever hashtag #LABron and included little jabs at Sixers fans such as “Forget the Process. We Win Banners!” Billboard recruiting is a time-honored tradition in Los Angeles, as we can never forget the failed #StayD12 campaign of yesteryear.
LeBron and company will be in Los Angeles this weekend for games against the Clippers and Lakers, so there’s a good chance he’ll get a glimpse of Emrani’s messages while he’s in town. Unless, of course, you know, he logs on to the internet sometime between now and then. B
