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...
Jazz Have A Free Agency Decision Fans Will Definitely Debate
The Jazz have some real flexibility heading into free agency, with about $15 million in non-taxpayer mid-level exception space to work with, but the first priority remains clear: keeping restricted free agent Walker Kessler in the fold. After that, the front office can start weighing whether to use what it has left on a veteran who helps right away, and the list of names Utah is kicking around reflects that balancing act. Marcus Smart, Matisse Thybulle, Gary Payton II and Tobias Harris each bring something different, whether it is defense, toughness or a more settled scoring presence.
For Jazz fans, the debate is easy to see. Smart would bring a proven edge if the market breaks his way, while Thybulle and Payton would tilt the roster toward pressure defense and energy on the perimeter. Harris is the most familiar offensive bet of the group, especially given Utahs previous interest in him before he landed in Detroit, but each option comes with its own cost and fit questions. However the Jazz choose to use that money, it figures to be one of the more interesting calls of their summer. [Read more 🡒]
What Jaylen Brown Would Really Cost The Jazz
Jaylen Browns name is suddenly sitting in the middle of a lot of speculative trade talk after Boston was said to be open to offers for the five-time All-Star, and Utah has naturally surfaced as a team worth watching. The Jazz have former Celtics executives in their front office, which gives any Boston-to-Utah conversation a little extra oxygen, especially with ideas floating around that involve Lauri Markkanen and draft capital.
For Utah, though, the question is less about the allure of a marquee scorer and more about timing. The Jazz have shown no urgency to chase a blockbuster, preferring to keep developing the roster they have and preserve flexibility for what comes next, which makes any Brown pursuit feel more like a debate than an inevitability. And with Markkanen still locked in as a long-term piece, the front office would have to decide whether this is the kind of swing that changes the franchise or just the sort that empties the cupboard. [Read more 🡒]
Lakers Are Circling Walker Kessler Again And Jazz Fans Know Why
The Lakers are getting a head start on free agency, and Walker Kessler is part of the conversation again. Los Angeles has lined up meetings with several targets as it tries to add frontcourt help, and the Jazz center is drawing enough leaguewide attention to remain on the radar even as he enters restricted free agency. For Utah, that interest is hardly surprising after Kessler flashed real two-way value before his season was interrupted by a left shoulder injury, a stretch that only sharpened the sense that his market could get complicated.
Kessler is not the only name tied to the Lakers early push. Sandro Mamukelashvili is expected to have plenty of suitors after declining his option with Toronto, while Gary Trent Jr. is also on Los Angeles board after opting out in Milwaukee. For Jazz fans, the Kessler piece is the one to watch, because a team with the Lakers profile circling a restricted free agent always raises the same question: how far will the bidding go before Utah has to decide whether to match and keep its defensive anchor in place? [Read more 🡒]