LeBron James is in the final year of his two-year, $101.3 million contract with the Los Angeles Lakers, and as the season rolls along, the whispers about his future are only getting louder. Will he stay in L.A.?
Will he call it a career? Or could he make one last surprise move before hanging it up?
Former Lakers guard Nick Young-never one to hold back-recently tossed his own theory into the mix. In a video shared on Instagram, Young floated the idea of LeBron returning to Cleveland, or even heading to Detroit, and drew a comparison to Kevin Durant’s latest career move.
"You know what LeBron should do?" Young said, pausing with a smirk.
"For real? Retire.
No, let me stop. For real, Bron-I'm telling you-go back to Cleveland, man."
It was a classic Swaggy P delivery: part joke, part serious basketball take, and all entertainment. But underneath the humor was a real point.
Young pointed to Durant’s decision to join a young Houston Rockets squad this offseason as a blueprint LeBron could follow. KD has landed in a situation where he’s thriving-leading the team in scoring-while letting the younger legs around him do the heavy lifting on defense. Surrounded by high-energy, defensive-minded players like Alperen Sengun and Amen Thompson, Durant has been able to preserve his body and still dominate in spurts.
That’s the kind of setup Young believes could extend LeBron’s career.
"Look at what KD doing," Young said. "KD is in the perfect situation where he can hide.
You can hide your oldness. You cannot be the man at 40."
It’s a candid take, but not without merit. LeBron, now in his 21st NBA season, has dealt with injuries this year and is averaging a career-low 20.2 points per game.
That’s still a solid number for just about anyone else-but for LeBron, it marks a clear shift. And with Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves increasingly taking on lead roles in L.A., the torch is clearly being passed.
Young didn’t stop there. He also took aim at the Lakers' current core when assessing their title chances.
"Luka, AR, and you (LeBron), that’s like-imagine me at 24, and you see two Caucasians and a 50-year-old out there," Young said. "You ain’t got a chance. You see two Caucasians, a half-fat skinny, and another old one on the team-they ain’t got no chance."
It was a harsh critique-one that mixes Swaggy P’s trademark humor with a not-so-subtle jab at the Lakers’ roster construction. But even with the skepticism, the Lakers are still firmly in the playoff picture. They’re sitting fourth in the Western Conference with a 19-10 record and have shown flashes of being a team that can make noise in the postseason.
Still, Young’s comments tap into a larger conversation happening around LeBron. He’s still a force, but the reality of Father Time is creeping in.
If he wants to chase one more ring, the path forward might look different than it did five or even three years ago. Maybe that means returning to Cleveland, where a young core led by Darius Garland and Evan Mobley could use a veteran anchor.
Maybe it means finding a situation like Durant’s-where he can lead when needed, but doesn’t have to carry the load every night.
Whatever LeBron decides, one thing’s clear: The league is watching. And so are the former players who know what it takes to keep going in the game’s twilight years.