Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James is set to become a free agent after the 2025-26 season, and it’s unclear if the 41-year-old will continue his career in the NBA.
While James is still playing at a high level in the 2025-26 season, it’s possible that he will move on from the league after 23 seasons.
One NBA head coach, however, sees a path forward for James beyond this season where he can “help a team win.”
“LeBron is still averaging 20 points and shooting 50%. He can help a team win,” one head coach told ESPN. “You just have to find the right situation.”
League executives have shared three “rational paths” for James after this season, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst and Tim Bontemps.
The first is for James to stay with the Lakers at a reduced salary. The four-time champion is making nearly $53 million in the 2025-26 season, and the Lakers may need him to take a pay cut from that number if they want to keep him around and build a long-term contender around fellow superstar Luka Doncic.
One executive called this possibility the “Dirk option” in reference to Hall of Famer Dirk Nowitzki’s later years with the Dallas Mavericks in which he took pay cuts. In this scenario, James would remain with the Lakers and help them build out the roster, giving him a chance to contend for a title this late in his career.
The second option involves James leaving the Lakers in the offseason to sign with another team. He will be an unrestricted free agent in the offseason, but it’s hard to see a team giving him a max contract offer since he’ll turn 42 during the 2026-27 season.
Lastly, James could always retire and end one of the greatest careers in NBA history.
After missing the start of the 2025-26 season due to sciatica, James has returned to play in 15 games for the Lakers and is averaging 20.3 points, 4.9 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game while shooting 49.6 percent from the field and 31.5 percent from beyond the arc.
The Lakers are 9-6 when the 21-time All-Star is in the lineup this season, and they currently hold the No. 5 seed in the Western Conference.
James has started to return to his usual form in recent games, averaging 24.4 points, 5.2 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game over his last nine games while shooting 54.0 percent from the field and 34.8 percent from 3.
The improvement from beyond the arc in that stretch is encouraging, since James is shooting way worse from 3 this season (31.5 percent) than he did in the 2024-25 season (37.6 percent).
Since James won his fourth title with the Lakers and has been with the franchise for eight seasons, it would be nice to see him finish his career with the Purple and Gold.
However, there likely will be a lot of negotiating this coming offseason – if James decides to keep playing – on what the right salary number is for the NBA’s all-time leading scorer.