LeBron James has silenced the offseason speculation, for now! Ever since his agent, Rich Paul, confirmed that the Lakers superstar is opting into his $52 million player option for next season, chatter about his immediate future has cooled. But beyond 2025–26, the vision is still blurred. At 40, LeBron is now a mentor for LA, not a decider, but the bigger question is legacy: will he choose to finish his legendary career in Los Angeles, or return to one of his former homes like Miami or Cleveland? After all, the upcoming season marks his seventh in Purple & Gold. So the real question remains: will the King retire a Laker as madam Savannah wants, or will he stretch himself a little longer?

If we’re being honest, it’s pretty hard to tell what the Akron native wants. However, NBA Insider Marc Stein has revealed how Rob Pelinka, Jeanie Buss would like things to play out following the 2025-26 season. Stein reported that the Lakers’ preferred scenario is dropping the veteran from their books after this campaign. This is a shocking revelation. “The Lakers ‘widely presumed preferred scenario’ for their future is letting LeBron James’ contract drop off their books after the 2025-26 season, per @TheSteinLine.“

We all know that Los Angeles doesn’t have much financial flexibility with LeBron James and Luka Doncic taking a major slice of their annual salary cap. Not to mention that there are a few players like Austin Reaves who are due their paydays. Stein thinks that’s a huge reason why LeBron James’ time in Hollywood might be nearing its end. Not just that, Rob Pelinka and Jeanie Buss also don’t fear the 40-year-old’s exit. “The threat of him leaving Lakerland next summer is no threat at all now.”

This could be their way of responding to Rich Paul’s statement when he announced James’ opting for the player option. The future Hall of Famer’s agent stated that his client is looking to compete for a championship and that they’ll assess what’s best for James’ future. Throughout the summer, the Purple & Gold have been stacking players to bolster their ranks. However, the interesting part is that all these moves have been made around Luka Doncic. In fact, the Slovenian point guard has even played a part in recruiting. 

For those of you who are not aware, Doncic assisted the LA Lakers front office in signing former Defensive Player of the Year, Marcus Smart. While this indicates how high the Lakers view the point guard, it also shows their declining focus on LeBron James. For years, James has been the franchise player not just in LA but wherever he’s been, but for the first time this summer, we all might have been witnessing a huge shift in the league’s power balance. This makes you think if James would like to end his career somewhere else?

Marc Stein reveals LeBron James’ lifelong wish 

LeBron James’ love for Madison Square Garden is no secret. After all, he has an insane record at the ‘World’s Most Famous Arena.’ James has stepped into the Garden 32 times in his career and won 23 times. Not just that, his numbers during those games are also off the charts. James averages 28 points, along with 7.4 assists and 6.9 rebounds, when playing at MSG. It’s this unusual but great relationship with the arena that leads Marc Stein to believe that James might have some unfinished business there. 

“I believe LeBron’s fondness for playing at MSG makes it unwise to say he’ll never be a Knick…difficult to gauge Knicks’ willingness…but…I’ll never rule out…He’s said to love The Garden that much.” Stein reported. The NBA Insider thinks that even though James is a Laker, it’s only for this season, not longer. Although Stein knows that it’s highly unlikely that the New York Knicks will break up their young core that just made a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals, he did not rule out the possibility. 

So, is there a chance that we might see the 40-year-old play at the MSG night in and night out? Now, before you Knicks fans let your imagination run wild, it’s really hard to see any scenario where he can fit into the current New York roster. Not just that, they’ve recently handed out Jalen Brunson an extension and are planning to hand out a few more. So, there’s almost no chance they’ll be even tempted to sign James. However, if anything that we’ve all learned from the NBA last season, it’s to expect the unexpected, as we wait and watch.