LeBron James is running it back for at least one more season - just not in a Lakers uniform.
The 41-year-old superstar has decided to continue his NBA career into the 2026-27 season, which would make it a record-setting 24th campaign. But ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Tuesday, just before free agency officially opened, that James has told Los Angeles he’ll be playing elsewhere next year.
That leaves the league’s next LeBron watch wide open. A third stint with Cleveland is on the table, and the latest buzz has pointed to Golden State, where the Warriors are said to be very interested in pairing him with Steph Curry after the two played together on Team USA at the 2024 Olympics. Draymond Green has already declined his player option for the upcoming season in an effort to help make that happen.
Even with the uncertainty around his next stop, James keeps stacking numbers that belong in a museum. During the 2025-26 regular season, he put up 20.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, 7.2 assists and 1.2 steals across 60 games, averaging 33.2 minutes. In the playoffs, he turned it up again, posting 23.2 points, 6.3 rebounds, 7.3 assists and 1.3 steals per game before the Lakers were swept by the Thunder in the second round.
Wherever he lands next, James will enter the 2026-27 season sitting atop or near the top of the NBA record book in just about every direction you can look. He is the league’s all-time leader in points (43,440), games (1,622), minutes (61,030) and field goals made (15,961). He’s also sixth in three-pointers (2,636), fourth in assists (12,061), sixth in steals (2,417) and 24th in rebounds (12,095).
And there’s still room for the numbers to move. With another solid season, James could climb into the top 20 in rebounds, pass Jason Kidd (12,091) for third on the all-time assists list, and even threaten Chris Paul for the No. 2 spot (12,552).
The resume keeps getting stranger in the best possible way. James owns the highest value over replacement player in NBA history (156.61), leads the league’s career box plus/minus list (8.53), and is the only player ever to reach 40,000 points, 11,500 rebounds and 11,500 assists.
His path to this point has stretched across eras and franchises. Cleveland made him the No. 1 pick in the 2003 NBA draft, and he stayed there through the 2009-10 season. The Cavaliers reached the Finals in 2007 and were swept by the Spurs, and James left in 2010 after repeated postseason failures.
He joined Miami next, teaming up with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. The Heat lost the 2011 Finals to the Mavericks, then won back-to-back titles in 2012 and ’13 before falling to the Spurs in ’14.
After that, he returned to Cleveland for four years. The Cavaliers lost to the Warriors in the Finals in his first season back, then James helped engineer one of the signature comebacks in league history in 2015, rallying from 3-1 down to beat Golden State in seven games for the franchise’s first title. Cleveland then lost to the Warriors again in the 2017 and ’18 Finals before James moved on once more.
He signed with the Lakers in the summer of 2018 and has been there ever since. Los Angeles missed the postseason in 2019, won the championship in 2020, and has had only fleeting playoff success since.
For all the hardware and all the records - four MVP awards, 22 All-Star selections, a record 13 All-NBA first-team honors, plus four second-team and three third-team nods - James still appears to be chasing the one thing that matters most to him: another ring. He already has four NBA titles, and he was named Finals MVP for each one. His most recent championship came with the Lakers in the NBA’s COVID-19 bubble in 2020.
In Other News...
Jaylen Brown Trade Just Raised The Stakes For Houston's Star Debate
Jaylen Browns name has a way of pulling Houston back into the bigger star conversation, especially now that the Rockets are trying to chart their next move with real ambition. Around the league, the latest deal involving Brown has only sharpened the question of what a compelling package would have looked like from Houstons side, and it naturally turns the spotlight onto the kinds of players and assets the Rockets could have put together if they chose to chase that level of talent.
The hypothetical starts with the sort of mix Houston can actually talk itself into: Alperen Sengun at the center of the offer, Tari Eason in a sign-and-trade, Fred VanVleets expiring contract, and draft capital to sweeten the deal. It is the kind of structure that invites a hard comparison with the package that ultimately got done, and it leaves Houston in the familiar place of wondering whether its path to a true difference-maker is still open, or whether the market has already moved past what the Rockets can realistically assemble. [Read more 🡒]
Rockets Cannot Afford This Star Chasing Mistake Right Now
The Rockets have spent so much time building around youth and upside that any star-chasing detour has to be measured against what they have already assembled. That is why the latest round of trade speculation has landed with some unease, even before Houston starts weighing the cost of adding a veteran name who comes with a long injury history and a shrinking runway.
Anthony Davis has still been productive when available, but availability is the whole issue here. He played just 20 games last season and has averaged 46.5 games over his last six years, which is exactly the sort of profile that should make Houston hesitate before putting core pieces on the table. For a team trying to protect its future, the risk is not just giving up too much, but giving up too much for a player whose timeline may not match theirs. [Read more 🡒]
Rockets Face One Backcourt Question That Could Define Their Season
The Rockets are heading into next season with a much deeper look in the backcourt, and the point guard rotation could end up being one of the quiet drivers of how far they go. Fred VanVleet is back in the mix, Marcus Smart was added in free agency to give the group more stability and toughness, and Reed Sheppard gives Houston another option if the staff needs to shuffle the guard spots around.
What makes it interesting is that this is not just a numbers game, it is a fit question. VanVleet, Smart and Sheppard each bring something different, but the Rockets will have to sort out who handles the offense, who plays alongside it and how much flexibility they want to preserve for matchups once the season starts to get real. [Read more 🡒]