If LeBron James decides to hit the open market this summer, the Cleveland Cavaliers are reportedly more than ready to roll out the welcome mat. According to league sources, the Cavs would “gladly welcome” the NBA’s all-time leading scorer back for what would be his 24th season - and his third stint in Cleveland.
Now 41, LeBron is set to become an unrestricted free agent for the first time since 2018, when he left Cleveland for Los Angeles. Since then, he’s spent the last eight seasons with the Lakers - the longest uninterrupted stretch of his career with any team. But with the Lakers shifting gears and building around Luka Dončić, LeBron’s future in LA is anything but certain.
That opens the door, at least slightly, for a potential homecoming.
Let’s be clear: LeBron James isn’t just another former Cavalier. He is the Cavaliers.
He’s the franchise’s all-time icon, the one who delivered the city its first and only NBA championship - and did it in unforgettable fashion. That 2016 Finals run, where LeBron, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love led Cleveland back from a 3-1 deficit to stun the 73-win Golden State Warriors, is etched into NBA history.
No team had ever pulled off that kind of comeback on that stage. And no player had ever put together a Finals performance quite like LeBron did that year.
His No. 23 jersey will one day hang in the rafters at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse. That’s a given.
But what about now? Could a reunion actually work?
Cleveland’s current core - Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen - is already one of the most promising young groups in the league. Add LeBron to that mix, and suddenly you’re looking at a starting five that’s as dangerous as any in the East.
Garland and Mitchell in the backcourt, LeBron on the wing, with Mobley and Allen anchoring the paint? That’s not just a feel-good story - that’s a legitimate contender.
Of course, there’s still one massive unknown: Does LeBron even want to keep playing?
At 41, he’s the oldest active player in the NBA. Retirement is a real possibility.
But if this season is any indication, he’s not exactly slowing down. LeBron is still putting up 22.4 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 6.7 assists per game - numbers that would be impressive for anyone, let alone a player in his third decade in the league.
He remains one of the smartest and most efficient offensive players in the game, capable of controlling tempo, creating for others, and still throwing down the occasional highlight-reel dunk.
So if he’s not ready to call it quits - and if Cleveland is open to the idea - the stars just might be aligning for one last run in wine and gold.
It’s far from a done deal. But the possibility is real. And for Cavs fans, it’s hard not to imagine what that would look like: LeBron back in the city where it all started, surrounded by a young, hungry roster, chasing one more ring - and maybe, just maybe, writing the final chapter of his legendary career right where the story began.