LeBron James is not done.
At 41, the NBA’s biggest name has decided to come back for another season, pushing his career into a 24th campaign, which would be a league record. But the next stop will not be Los Angeles. ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Tuesday, just before free agency opened, that James told the Lakers he would play elsewhere.
The news leaves the biggest question unanswered: where does he go now?
The possibilities are wide open. A return to Cleveland is on the table, which would mean a third stint with the Cavaliers.
Golden State is also in the mix, with the Warriors showing real interest in pairing James with Steph Curry, just as they did on Team USA in 2024. Draymond Green even declined his player option for the upcoming season in an effort to help make that happen.
James just finished a season that still looked plenty productive for a player in his 40s. In 60 games during the 2025-26 regular season, he put up 20.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, 7.2 assists and 1.2 steals in 33.2 minutes per game.
He raised the level in the playoffs, averaging 23.2 points, 6.3 rebounds, 7.3 assists and 1.3 steals. The Lakers’ run ended in the second round, when the Thunder swept them out.
Whatever uniform he wears next, James keeps adding to a résumé that already sits in a different universe. Entering the 2026-27 season, he is the NBA’s all-time leader in more than a dozen regular-season categories and owns nearly every major postseason record.
His career arc has already taken him through three defining stops. Cleveland drafted him No. 1 in 2003, and he stayed there through the 2009-10 season.
The Cavaliers reached the Finals in 2007 and were swept by the Spurs. James left in 2010 after repeated postseason failures.
He then joined Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami. The Heat fell to the Mavericks in the 2011 Finals, then won back-to-back championships in 2012 and 2013 before losing to the Spurs in 2014.
After that, he returned to Cleveland for four more seasons. The Cavaliers lost the 2015 Finals to the Warriors, then pulled off the famous comeback from down 3-1 to beat Golden State in seven games in 2016 for the franchise’s first title. Cleveland then lost to the Warriors again in the 2017 and 2018 Finals before James moved on once more.
He signed with the Lakers in the summer of 2018 and has been there since. Los Angeles missed the playoffs in 2019, won the title in 2020, and has not had much postseason success since.
James’ numbers are staggering even by all-time standards. He leads the regular-season record book in points with 43,440, games with 1,622, minutes with 61,030 and field goals made with 15,961. He is sixth in three-pointers with 2,636, fourth in assists with 12,061, sixth in steals with 2,417 and 24th in rebounds with 12,095.
Another solid season could move him into the top 20 in rebounds. He should pass Jason Kidd’s 12,091 assists for third place, and he could even challenge Chris Paul’s 12,552 for second.
James also owns the highest value over replacement player in NBA history at 156.61, leads the league all time in box plus/minus at 8.53, and remains the only player in NBA history with at least 40,000 points, 11,500 rebounds and 11,500 assists.
His trophy case is already crowded. He has won four MVP awards, made 22 All-Star teams, and earned a record 13 All-NBA first-team selections, along with four second-team nods and three third-team honors.
And still, the goal is clear. The records matter, but the chase for another championship matters more.
James has four rings, and he was Finals MVP for each one. His most recent title came with the Lakers in the NBA’s COVID-19 bubble in 2020.
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