LeBron James will be playing again next season in the NBA, but it will not be for the Los Angeles Lakers.
James has informed the Lakers that he plans to continue his career elsewhere, according to Shams Charania of ESPN. The Lakers wanted James back, but he decided against returning.
BREAKING: LeBron James will continue his NBA career for the 2026-27 season and has informed the Los Angeles Lakers that the franchise can move on without him because he will play elsewhere, Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul tells ESPN. pic.twitter.com/zzVk6xUVF1
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 30, 2026
This is a seismic decision, and the big question obviously becomes where James intends to play instead. Recent rumors have linked him to the Golden State Warriors, and that is where a lot of the speculation will quickly shift to. The Cleveland Cavaliers are also likely to be mentioned, as they always are when James is looking for a new team.
Ultimately, James wound up playing eight seasons for the Lakers, and he delivered an NBA title in 2020. He also became the league’s all-time leading scorer while wearing a Lakers uniform.
However, relations between James and the Lakers had seemingly shifted over the last year or so. The team’s acquisition of Luka Doncic ensured that he, not James, was the marquee star the organization was building around. While the Lakers did want James back, there were also indications that they considered other players more important to their long-term success than they did the 41-year-old. From LeBron’s point of view, this was at times disrespectful, and that might have hastened his exit.
