The helicopter arrangement involving LeBron James traveling from New York City to Philadelphia for the 76ers is documented, but whether it violates NBA rules remains an unanswered question. Amid the ongoing discussion, investigative journalist Pablo Torre has confirmed his interest in examining the arrangement.
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At the same time, Torre has revealed that NBA owners have contacted him about the matter. And while he has discussed the story on his podcast, Torre is now facing backlash for his criticism of James.
“Hey @PabloTorre, I just saw your click bait story on my goat LeBron James,” The Locker Room wrote on X. “Your Jeremy Lin run is up. Put the beef and broccoli in the bag. Oh and don’t forget my duck sauce. Quit being a lame ass nigga. You ain’t on shit broke ass Chinese boy. You’re poor.”
However, the post describing Torre as Chinese didn’t sit well with him, whose parents are immigrants from the Philippines. After the post gained traction, Torre responded and corrected his ethnicity, writing:
“I’m Filipino.”
The back-and-forth occurred as Pablo Torre was investigating LeBron James’ use of a Fanatics-branded helicopter for his commute from New York to Philadelphia. The four-time NBA champion signed a two-year deal with the 76ers ahead of the 2026 NBA season.
At the same time, however, he’s splitting his time between Philadelphia and New York City, using a helicopter rather than making the commute via a two-hour drive. For broader context, James signed a multi-year trading-card and memorabilia partnership with Fanatics in 2024, when he was still with the Los Angeles Lakers.
As part of the deal, he had access to Fanatics’ corporate aviation.
“The deal we signed with Fanatics almost three years ago includes access to their corporate aviation,” James’ spokesperson told Front Office Sports. “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.”
A one-way trip by helicopter takes about half an hour and costs around $4,000 to $10,000. However, things escalated when Pablo expressed his interest in investigating James’ helicopter arrangement. This week, he discussed the story at the Front Office Sports Tuned In Summit, in a conversation with Daniel Roberts, one of the journalists involved in the original reporting.
“I will say that we’re very interested, and we are, of course, looking into all of the way that is both a good story, as well as something that’s of interest to the league,” said Torre. At the same time, he also acknowledged that “We’re also getting tips from NBA owners, who are sending me your story, being like, ‘What is this?'”
Evidently, this wouldn’t be the first instance for Pablo Torre dipping into an NBA-related investigation. Earlier this year, in May 2026, his podcast Pablo Torre Finds Out won the Pulitzer Prize in audio reporting for uncovering how the Los Angeles Clippers used a separate entity to bypass the NBA salary cap when acquiring Kawhi Leonard.
During his investigation, Pablo Torre reported that the Clippers owner Steve Ballmer allegedly funneled money to Kawhi Leonard via a $28 million, four-year endorsement deal with Aspiration (a California-based environmental company) in which the Clippers owner had personally invested $50 million.
Pablo’s investigation at that time led to the NBA issuing penalties to both Steve Ballmer and Kawhi Leonard. The Clippers owner was issued a one-year suspension from all league and team activities. Meanwhile, Kawhi Leonard was fined $700,000 in restitution and subsequently traded to the Toronto Raptors. Additionally, a $30 million fine was imposed on the franchise, with forfeiture of five consecutive first-round draft picks from 2029 through 2033.
For now, it remains to be seen whether Torre’s investigation uncovers any potential NBA rule violations or simply sheds more light on James’ corporate aviation arrangement. While the helicopter benefit has drawn scrutiny, Torre’s findings could provide further clarity on the matter.