LeBron James’ future with the Los Angeles Lakers and the timing of his eventual retirement will remain a topic of discussion until the day he officially brings his historic career to a close.
Speculation has followed him for years, but with James now 41, questions have only grown louder.
Will he retire at the end of the 2025-26 season, turn next year into a full farewell tour, or finish his career elsewhere entirely. The uncertainty has only intensified as the Lakers navigate another uneven stretch of form.
That backdrop set the stage for a striking prediction from four-time All-Star DeMarcus Cousins, who offered his view on how James’ career will ultimately end.
LeBron James Linked to Cleveland Return
Appearing on Run It Back alongside Michelle Beadle, Chandler Parsons, and Lou Williams, Cousins suggested that James will not finish his career in Los Angeles. Instead, he believes the Lakers superstar will return to where it all began.
“Do I feel like he finishes his career in LA? I don’t,” Cousins said. “My gut tells me he finishes in Cleveland. I think it just makes sense.”
“That’s where his story starts, obviously that’s where he’s from. I think that’d be the first team to hang his jersey up. It just makes sense for him to end his career in Cleveland. ”
The idea of James returning to the Cleveland Cavaliers is hardly new, but Cousins’ comments added weight to a theory that continues to resurface.
He also questioned whether James’ situation in Los Angeles has consistently put him in a position to compete at the highest level.
“Obviously he won a title in 19-20, but for the rest of the time it just hasn’t really shown where he’s been put in the best situation,” Cousins added. “When you think about LeBron James, it should never be where he doesn’t make the playoffs.”
James’ tenure in Los Angeles has included a championship and a deep playoff run in 2022-23, though that season ended with a Western Conference Finals sweep at the hands of the Denver Nuggets. Beyond that, the Lakers have endured first-round exits and missed postseason appearances.
At the midway point of this season, the Lakers sit at 25-16 and sixth in the Western Conference. They’ve gone 6-9 over their last 15 games, and while still comfortably above .500, the overall trajectory has felt increasingly uneasy. The gap between expectations and reality remains evident.
Contract Clues and the Retirement Timeline
James is currently in the second year of a two-year, $101 million contract, a familiar structure he’s often favored late in his career. He exercised his player option for this season, positioning himself to become an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2026.
“Just look at the clues. James is in the final year of his contract,” ESPN’s Dave McMenamin recently reported. “His longtime friend and agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, told ESPN over the summer that James didn’t ask for an extension with the Lakers.”
Despite missing the start of the season with injury and experiencing a slow return, James’ production has remained elite. Since turning 41 in late December, he’s averaging 26.6 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 7.6 assists while shooting 52.8% from the field.
Whether he would want that level of play to close out his career on a Lakers team still searching for stability is open to debate. Sam Quinn of CBS Sports believes the four-time NBA Champion will want his final chapter to be more deliberate.
“Does LeBron James seem like the sort of player who would go out quietly following an early playoff exit? Of course not,” Quinn said. “He’d want a retirement tour. He’d want a year of genuflection.”
“He could get that as a Laker, but it would be different in Cleveland, where he wouldn’t be taking such an obvious backseat to Doncic and the future.”
James has reportedly remained undecided about retirement, focusing instead on staying healthy and available for as many games as possible.
Still, the question lingers. Whether his career ends in Los Angeles or comes full circle in Cleveland remains one of the NBA’s most compelling storylines.
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