Is This the End? Lakers Reveal Date for LeBron’s Last Dance in LA
LeBron James’ time in Los Angeles has an end date.
That’s what ESPN’s Brian Windhorst and Ramona Shelbourne wrote definitively in a new story out Friday.
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Here’s how they phrased it:
Whether the 2025-26 season is to be James’ final season in the NBA is up to him. But if he wanted the kind of Hollywood ending that only the Lakers can give legends of the game, the release date was set.
Spring, 2026.
Luka Doncic in, LeBron James out.
The Lakers would of course celebrate him the way they did Kobe Bryant on his retirement tour back in 2016, if that’s what James ultimately decided.
But for the first time in his 23-year NBA career, a team had not begged or borrowed against its future to do everything it could to keep James beyond his current contract.
James opted-in to his 2025-26 player option earlier this month to earn $52.6 million in the season ahead. But the Lakers didn’t set up a new contract extension with him.
Windhorst and Shelbourne clarify that this doesn’t necessarily mean James will retire.
But he won’t be with the Lakers after this season, at least not in the current setup. And that’s quite a big deal.
