LeBron James, the NBA’s first and only active player to reach billionaire status, is preparing for a new home court with the Philadelphia 76ers. Where he will live next, however, remains unresolved.

James, known as “The Chosen One,” has won four NBA championships, reached the Finals 10 times, and has a record of community involvement through philanthropy and the economic activity associated with the teams and cities where he plays. His move to Philadelphia has drawn attention not only for basketball reasons, but also because of reports that he may live in New York while playing for the Sixers and commute to practices and games by helicopter.

Several basketball insiders posted on X over the weekend that James could commute by chopper. NBA insider Shams Charania also said the possibility of living in New York while traveling by helicopter to Sixers practices and games contributed to Philadelphia’s appeal. James has not publicly said where he plans to live.

The possibility creates two complications: the tax treatment of a supercommute between New York and Philadelphia, and a long-running effort in New York City to restrict helicopter traffic. For a player whose arrival is being discussed in terms of both roster impact and regional spending, the question of where he sleeps could become part of the larger public debate over who benefits from his presence and which city absorbs the costs of his travel.

New York was not merely a theoretical option for James. Sources told Hoops Wire that James’s camp contacted the Knicks during free agency, but New York was not interested in pursuing him and preferred to keep intact the roster that had just won a championship.

James’s agreement with Philadelphia is notable even without the possible commute. As the only active NBA player worth a billion dollars, he signed a two-year, $8 million contract with the 76ers, falling to the league’s veteran minimum salary. The deal represents a pay cut of roughly $48 million, or more than 90% of what he earned last season with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Philadelphia, by contrast, could see a substantial economic boost. The Boyd Company, a corporate location consulting firm, projects that James’s arrival will generate between $250 million and $430 million in regional economic activity during his first season.

James would not be the first 76ers player to make a New York-to-Philadelphia commute. J.J. Redick, who coached James with the Lakers last season, commuted from his family’s home in Brooklyn to Philadelphia while playing for the 76ers from 2017 to 2019. Decades earlier, Wilt Chamberlain did something similar, living in New York during the season while playing for Philadelphia and operating a nightclub in Harlem.

Helicopter restrictions, pied-à-terre taxes, and commuting costs

The main appeal of the helicopter option is time. A helicopter flight between New York City and Philadelphia takes about 45 minutes and covers roughly 150 kilometers, compared with a car trip of about an hour and a half. Charter operators already fly the route regularly, linking multiple Manhattan lounges with several Philadelphia heliports.

That convenience is running into a New York City political debate that has been building for years. Mayor Zohran Mamdani said during last year’s campaign that he opposed nonessential helicopter travel after a tourist helicopter crashed into the Hudson River, killing six people. Helicopter opponents are now urging him to follow through by restricting flights from city-owned heliports.

In the 12 months ending in June, New York City recorded more than 17,000 helicopter-related noise complaints. A City Council proposal would limit the two city-owned Manhattan heliports to essential flights only. Any decision on those heliports would matter beyond one athlete’s commute because the reported route depends on the same aviation infrastructure already under scrutiny from residents and city officials.

If James buys real estate in New York rather than rents, he could also face an additional cost. New York’s pied-à-terre tax, which took effect July 1, applies to second homes valued at $1 million or more. Properties worth more than $5 million face a 6.5% annual surcharge. A part-time New York residence, even for a player whose team and tax home are tied to another city, would fall within the type of property targeted by the tax. The New York state governor’s X account posted a joke about James: “LePied-a-Terre.”

The tax question connected to the commute is more complex than a simple case of being billed twice. Ordinary supercommuters face an uneven system. New York City does not impose income tax on nonresidents who work there, meaning a Philadelphia resident commuting into Manhattan would not pay New York City income tax, although New York State taxes would still apply to those wages.

The reverse situation is less clear. A New York resident working in Philadelphia owes Philadelphia’s nonresident wage tax in addition to full New York State and New York City resident taxes. It has not been settled whether the credit system fully eliminates that overlap.

Whatever James ultimately decides, basketball fans online have questioned whether he accepted the minimum salary so he could finally make New York City his home, more than 15 years after he toured his first apartment in the Big Apple. He never bought that apartment, so a pied-à-terre tax does not potentially apply to that property.

“Nothing says ‘I’m fully committed to the city of Philadelphia’ like refusing to actually step foot in Pennsylvania unless there’s a game,” one person wrote on X.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com.