Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James is entering the offseason as an unrestricted free agent, and his future in the NBA is truly up in the air.
James could return to the Lakers for his 24th NBA season, but he also could explore his options elsewhere with the Lakers clearly moving toward the Luka Doncic era. In addition to that, the 41-year-old has not committed to returning to the NBA in the 2026-27 season, meaning he could decide to retire.
However, one source close to James seems to think that the ball is in the Lakers’ court when it comes to their partnership.
“I think it’s up to the Lakers,” the source told ESPN. “He loves it in L.A.”
James has been with the Lakers since the start of the 2018-19 season, and he brought the franchise a title in the 2019-20 campaign, winning against the Miami Heat in the Finals in the NBA’s Orlando, Fla. bubble.
This season, James was named an All-Star once again, and he finished the regular season averaging 20.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game while shooting 51.5 percent from the field and 31.7 percent from 3.
While James was no longer the No. 1 option in Los Angeles this season when the team was healthy, he showed that he could play alongside Doncic and Austin Reaves while taking on a lesser role in the offense. That helped the Lakers go on a major run in the second half of the 2025-26 season, and they eventually secured the No. 4 spot in the Western Conference.
Then, with Reaves missing four playoff games and Doncic missing L.A.’s entire postseason run, James took his game to another level. He averaged 23.2 points, 6.7 rebounds and 7.3 assists per game in the playoffs and led the Lakers to a series victory over the Houston Rockets in the first round.
While Los Angeles was swept by the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder in the second round, James still averaged 23.3 points per game in that series.
The Lakers have a lot of decisions to make in the offseason, especially if they want to build a team that can contend for a title.
If James is in those plans, it appears that he has a desire to remain in Los Angeles. However, the Lakers could look to pivot elsewhere, even though James was still extremely effective in the 2025-26 season.
