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LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers reacts during the fourth quarter against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Rocket Arena on January 28, 2026 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Cavaliers defeated the Lakers 129-99.
Through the first two-thirds of the 2025-26 NBA season, the Los Angeles Lakers have proven to be a solid team, but still pale in comparison to other squads across the Western Conference with the injuries to Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, as well as the aging LeBron James with his uncertain future with the franchise.
While many fans still might believe the Lakers have a legitimate shot at winning four straight playoff rounds and clinching the NBA Finals, that might be a fleeting reality, at least according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.
At the same time the insider claimed the Lakersdon’t have a shot at winning the Finals, he urged the team to enjoy the rest of the season, as it could very well be James’s last with the franchise, with rumors and speculation mounting on a return to the Cleveland Cavaliers in what would be the final chapter of his career.
Get Up
“They’re in fourth place in the West. … Enjoy the season. You’re not going to the Finals this year.”
—@WindhorstESPN on where he expects a healthy Lakers team to stack up in the second half of the NBA season
“I think everybodywho’s a Lakers fan should do what LeBron said at the end there in that interview we just (watched),”Windhorst said onESPN’sGet Up show. “Enjoy the season.You’re not going to the Finals this year…Enjoy that on a Thursday night when their star player is out, (James) puts up a triple-double.”
The insider referencedJames’ postgame interview after he became the oldest player in NBA history to record a triple-double, in which the superstar said he still enjoys what he does, butdoesn’t know how long he has left to play.
LeBron James Lakers Future, Retirement, Cavaliers Return
The rumblings about James leaving the Lakers after this season first began when he picked up his player option for this year with the team over the offseason, setting himself up for free agency this summer.
Since then, multiple reports have followed on James preparing to leave Los Angeles after this season.Perhaps the most notable was insider Shams Charaniasaying on The Pat McAfee Show that theleague’s all-time leading scorer’s time with the Lakers is coming to an end after this season.
“The reality of what we have right here is the end of a relationship in terms of LeBron James and the Lakers,”Charania said,per ESPN.com. “Whether that comes at the end of this season if LeBron James decides as a free agent to sign somewhere else or he decides to retire or he decides to come back for one more year and decide he wants to retire as a Laker…The end is near however you wanna slice it.”
Jake Fischer also recently reported that both James and the Lakers are ‘ready to move on‘from each other.James himselfhasn’t addressed the reporting about his future in Los Angeles, but instead has discussed how his time in the league in general is coming to an end, hinting more and moreabout retirement.
However, while healso hasn’t given a direct answer on that, despite the mounting evidence, rumors about James making a return to Cleveland have alsoheated up over the past few weeks. Along with a report that he wasbeing recruited to go to the Cavaliers by Donovan Mitchell and James Harden,ESPN’s Tim McMahon openly addressed whatis now expected to beJames’ next career move.
Oh No He Didn't
“I know what the ramping speculation is around the league: this summer there’s gonna be a reunion and potentially a retirement tour for the ages back home again with the Cleveland Cavaliers next year” – @BannedMacMahon on Lebron
“I know what the ramping speculation is around the league, and that is, this summerthere’s gonna be a reunion and potentially a retirement tour for the ages back home again with the Cleveland Cavaliers next year,”McMahon said on NBA Today about James.
Along withWindhorst’s claim that the Lakers are not in contention to win a title this season, McMahon previously said James knows that is the case and understands the team is focusing on a future with Doncic and Reaves, which is why he has faced criticism this year for his reported ‘grumpiness.’
Lakers Not Title Contenders At The All-Star Break
While speculation aboutJames’ Lakers future is nothing new, perhapsWindhorst’s claimabout Los Angelesnot being able to compete for a championship this year is more pressing.
At the time of the All-Star break, the Lakers rank 16th in net rating, 11th in offensive rating, and 23rd in defensive rating, none of which are good signs for any hopes of winning four-straight playoff rounds.
With a record of 33-21, they also fail tohit the championship parameters previously laid out by legendary head coach Phil Jackson, who claimed only teamsthat reach 40 wins beforehitting 20 losses have a real shot at winning the Finals.
The injuries are another major issue.Doncic has missed 12 games and is currently out, while Reaves has missed 26 and James has been out 18, asnow the latter two are ineligible for end-of-season awards. The stars’ missing time is also abig issue because outside of them, the Lakersdon’t have awhole lot of other top-end talent to work with, as seenwith their record when at least two of the stars are out.
On top of all that, Los Angeles is up against the buzzsaw that is the Western Conference.The idea of the Lakers beating any combination of the Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs, Houston Rockets, Denver Nuggets, or Minnesota Timberwolves in multiple playoff seriesin a row feels like a stretch.
Yes, James put in a legendary performance on Thursday night, and when healthy and competing at a high level, the overall roster is still strong. But in terms of winning the Finals this year, thatshouldn’t be an expectation.General manager Rob Pelinka already discussed how they turned down trade offers to bolster the team at the deadline, and theyare expected to focus on the future without Jamesand prioritizeputting players around Doncic and Reaves going forward.