Will Los Angeles Lakers phenom LeBron James remain in the NBA until his mid-40s?
Who knows, but barring an unexpected turn of events, the 21-time All-Star will compete in the big leagues for at least one more season.
If James elects to play beyond the 2025-26 season, though, The Stein Line’s Marc Stein predicts that the four-time NBA champion will ditch Luka Doncic and the Lakers next summer and join a different franchise.
“I believe that the 2025-26 season, purely speaking in a predictive voice, will not be LeBron’s last,” Stein said Saturday.
“I repeat: This is something only he can really know and more of a gut-feel read from me rather than reporting, but I fall into the camp that expects him to announce to the world that a certain season will be his last before it starts.”
“I believe that, by saying what I just said in the previous paragraph, it means that I expect him to retire in a uniform that isn’t purple and gold. It’s pretty clear at this juncture that the Lakers have launched the Luka Doncic era.”
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“It certainly appears as though they are approaching the 2025-26 season as LeBron’s last in Tinseltown. If James doesn’t want retirement forced upon him, as one suspects, that almost certainly means he would have to find a new team next summer.”
James has spent the past seven seasons in Los Angeles. While the 40-year-old forward captured an NBA title (his fourth overall) with the Lakers in 2020, team success has been hard to come by.
James has missed the postseason twice during that span and has only reached the Western Conference Finals twice.
With Luka Doncic surprisingly in the mix moving forward, and the Lakers addressing several needs to begin free agency, Los Angeles should be set to compete for a championship next year.
That said, if the organization underperforms in the playoffs again, James, who hasn’t minced his words on winning another ring before retiring, could search for greener pastures during the 2026 free agency period.
Franchises like the Golden State Warriors, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Dallas Mavericks have all been linked to James recently, making it possible for one of them to land the future Hall of Famer in a championship-craving future move.
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