LeBron James plans to continue his NBA career somewhere other than Los Angeles, where he’s spent the last eight seasons of his eventual Hall of Fame career.
James, per an ESPN report midday Tuesday, informed the Lakers that he intends to play during the 2025-26 campaign, but will not be re-signing with the Lakers. The decision by James occurred just hours before the league’s free agency negotiation window was set to open at 6 p.m. ET. He’ll officially be able to sign with a new team on July 6 when the NBA’s new league year starts but can agree to contract terms once Tuesday’s negotiation window opens. James is an unrestricted free agent, meaning he is free to sign with any team.
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A 21-time All-Star, James averaged 20.9 points, 7.2 assists and 6.1 rebounds in a little more than 33 minutes per game last season for a Lakers team that advanced to the second round of the NBA playoffs.
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Where the 41-year-old James will play his record-setting 24th NBA season remains to be seen, but there are clear leaders in the clubhouse with two Eastern Conference teams and one Western Conference franchise being most popular among bettors.
Polymarket currently sees the Golden State Warriors as the most likely next destination for James. A move to the Warriors is trading at more than 57% of happening. And for good reason. James would remain in California where he and his family reside and he’d team with fellow aging stars Steph Curry and Draymond Green, both friends of James’.
Fan backlash, however, could potentially throw a wrench into those plans. When James returned to the Cleveland Cavaliers for a second stint with his hometown team – in the summer of 2014 – his Cavs teams competed against Curry, Green and the Warriors in four straight NBA Finals, winning once. The franchises had a strong dislike for one another. And James’ hometown fans likely wouldn’t love the idea of LBJ playing nice with his former sworn enemy.
Speaking of Cleveland, they’re trading as James’ second-most likely destination to continue his career. Just over 34% of wagers on Polymarket have King James returning to the team that drafted him. The same franchise that James helped secure their first and only NBA title in 2016.
James is from nearby Akron, Ohio and keeps a home in the area. He frequently returns to Ohio, and his social media accounts have indicated that he’s been in the Buckeye state over the last few weeks. Teaming with a Cleveland team that rosters current and former All-Stars like Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley and James Harden (a free agent who is widely expected to re-sign with the team), would seem to give James his best chance of securing a fifth NBA title. The Cavaliers advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals this spring, losing to the eventual champion New York Knicks.
James spent his first seven NBA seasons with the Cavaliers, reaching the Finals once. He then joined the Miami Heat for four seasons, winning a pair of NBA championships before heading back to Cleveland.
Miami, coincidentally, has the third-highest percentage of wagers for James’ next team. James’ familiarity with the organization, coupled with the fact that the team recently acquired superstar forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, have made the Heat a popular choice for a James reunion. This is a team that is clearly in win-now mode and could certainly use a talent like James to aid in their quest for the franchise’s first title since 2013.
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Following the 2018 season and yet another Finals appearance – James’ eighth straight – LeBron signed with the Lakers. He won a title with LA in 2020 and became the NBA’s all-time leading scorer in 2024.
Now, he departs Hollywood and sets out to write a new, possibly final chapter, of his illustrious career.
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