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...
Bradley Beal Just Twisted The Knife On Suns Fans Again
Bradley Beals latest turn in free agency is the kind of development Suns fans probably hoped they had moved past. After a frustrating stretch that included hip surgery and just six appearances with the Clippers, Beal is back on the market, and his next stop is still unknown as roster spots around the league continue to disappear.
Phoenix, of course, is still living with the financial aftermath. The Suns remain on the hook for more than $77 million to Beal through 2030 as part of the previous buyout, a reminder that even when he is wearing another uniform, his contract still sits in the background of the franchises future. By the time that bill is fully paid, the total will be staggering. [Read more 🡒]
Suns Just Made Two Free Agency Decisions Fans Had To See
Phoenix spent free agency doing the kind of business a team with limited draft capital and salary cap space often has to do: keep the pieces it can afford to lose least. Collin Gillespie is back on a four-year deal, and Williams also agreed to stay, giving the Suns a pair of familiar names to build around as they try to preserve continuity without much room to shop elsewhere.
Gillespie is expected to take on a bigger scoring role in the backcourt, while Williams gives Phoenix the starting center presence it has been looking to stabilize. Even with both decisions in place, the roster picture is not completely finished, which is part of why these moves matter so much - they help set the floor for what the Suns can still do next. [Read more 🡒]
Suns Still Have One Roster Problem To Solve In Free Agency
Phoenix has already done a fair amount of its summer housekeeping by bringing back Mark Williams, Collin Gillespie and Jordan Goodwin, then making the move for Miles Bridges to help stabilize the frontcourt after dealing Grayson Allen. The Bridges trade gives the Suns a clearer look at the lineup they want to build around, and the expectation is that he slots into the starting power forward role while the rest of the roster takes shape around him and Dillon Brooks.
What still needs work is the backcourt, where Phoenix is looking for another guard to round out the rotation and give the team more balance. The Suns are also signaling they want to keep Brooks around long term, and they have contract offers available for both Brooks and Bridges, which means the next phase of the offseason is less about making splashy moves and more about locking in the pieces they think can fit together. [Read more 🡒]