The Los Angeles Lakers’ hopes of winning another NBA championship are over but questions over what comes next for LeBron James will rumble on beyond Monday’s loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The reigning-champion Thunder blew an 11-point third-quarter lead only to rally back in the fourth for a 115-110 win to complete their four-game sweep of James and the Lakers.
The victory means the injury-ravaged Thunder can take a much-needed rest before facing the winner of the Minnesota-San Antonio series in the Western Conference Finals.
The Lakers, meanwhile, finished first in the Pacific Division again only to get knocked out of the playoffs in the first round for the second year in a row. In fact, James’ Lakers haven’t won a playoff series since reaching the conference finals in 2023.
James finished with a game-high 12 rebounds and 24 points in what was an otherwise brutal game for the former MVP. Not only were the Lakers outscored by 17 points while he was on the floor, but James also committed four costly turnovers on a night when LA had 19.
And there’s good reason to believe Monday’s loss could be James’ last appearance for the Lakers. Back in July 2024, he agreed to a two-year deal to return to Los Angeles. It was worth $104million and it ran through the 2025/26 season.
The reigning-champion Thunder blew an 11-point third-quarter lead only to rally back in the fourth for a 115-110 win to complete their four-game sweep of James and the Lakers
Chet Holmgren is seen dunking over Lakers teammates LeBron James and Austin Reeves
James will become a free agent in June and questions over whether he will retire or find a new home have been bubbling since 12 months prior, when his agent Rich Paul told ESPN: ‘LeBron wants to compete for a championship.’
‘He knows the Lakers are building for the future. He understands that, but he values a realistic chance of winning it all.’
The 23-season veteran, a four-time NBA champion, exercised his player option for this season.
By making that $52.6m decision – rather than negotiating another deal – James ushered in a rare first: never before in his eight years with the Lakers had he played through the final year of a deal.
Then came another first. His start to this season was interrupted by a fight with sciatica, which was described at the time by coach JJ Redick as nerve irritation in his glute.
LeBron James goes up for a rebound against Isaiah Hartenstein during Monday’s loss
LeBron James glances over at son Bronny James during Monday’s pre-game warmups
‘Never in my life, since I started playing the game of basketball, have I ever not started the season,’ James recently told ESPN.
But he missed the first 14 games of the 2025/26 campaign. Since then, there have been further reminders of his fragility: issues with his foot, elbow and hip.
He has given hints that this could be his last dance but also insisted that he has yet to make up his mind.
‘When I know, you guys will know,’ James said in February. ‘I don’t know. I have no idea. I just want to live, that’s all.’
The 41-year-old already holds several NBA records including most games played and most points scored. So if he were to play on, where would James go?
The Golden State Warriors, New York Knicks, the LA Clippers and Denver Nuggets have all been touted as possible landing spots. A third stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers has also been floated, too.
Then, of course, there is Los Angeles. The future Hall of Famer has spent nearly a decade with the franchise and led them to an NBA title in 2020. Since then, however, the Lakers have failed to reach the NBA finals.
In Los Angeles, James played for friend JJ Reddick (left) and with son Bronny (right)
Earlier this year, meanwhile a bombshell report claimed Lakers chief Jeanie Buss grew frustrated with James’ ego and attitude and even how he reacted to Los Angeles’ decision to draft his son Bronny.
The Buss family last year agreed to sell majority ownership of the Lakers to Mark Walter for around $10 billion. They had been owners of the franchise since 1979 and Jeanie Buss remains governor of the team.
But ESPN claimed that Buss, 64, ‘privately grumbled’ about ‘what she felt was James’ outsize ego’ and also the ‘overt control’ he and Rich Paul’s Klutch Sports ‘exerted over the organization at times.’
Buss reportedly considered trading James across Los Angeles to the Clippers in 2022, a year after the ‘distance… widened’ between owner and star player.
The Lakers’ controversial decision to draft Bronny in 2024 was said to be another source of frustration for Buss. LeBron’s eldest son was taken with the 55th overall pick, allowing them to become the first father-son duo to play together in the NBA.
And it’s reported that Buss believed that James ‘should be grateful for such a gesture, but she felt that he wasn’t.’
Ahead of this season, however, Los Angeles’ president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka said he would love it if James retired a Laker.
He still has ties there, of course. Reddick went from James’ podcast co-host to his head coach, while Bronny has a year left on his contract in Los Angeles.
But the Lakers are reportedly keen to rebuild their roster around Luka Doncic, who missed the NBA playoffs with injury.
Asked what’s separating the Lakers from being a championship contender, Reddick admitted that’s a question he’ll be faced with over the next few weeks.
‘That’s what we got to figure out this offseason,’ he told reporters after Monday’s loss. ‘I will say, for the things that we set out to do, and build our championship habits and build our championship communication and championship shape, I thought we were, we were darn close to doing that. And [that] doesn’t mean you’re going to win a championship, but I take a lot of pride in our players and what they all individually went through, what we collectively went through, and what we turned out to be.’
