LeBron will decide this offseason whether he wants to retire, stay with the Los Angeles Lakers, or go elsewhere for his 24th season in the NBA. As Dave McMenamin and Tim Bontemps of ESPN outlined on Tuesday, though, it feels like the organization has the upper hand in getting him to stay, with the most important reason being his family.
Bronny James is in his second season with the Lakers, and his $2.3 million salary for the 2026-27 season is partially guaranteed. It will become fully guaranteed on June 29. If the Lakers keep the eldest of LeBron's two sons, that alone could be enough for him to have another go-round in purple and gold.
It's not just about Bronny, though. His wife, Savannah James, and 11-year-old daughter, Zhuri, live with him in Los Angeles. His youngest son, Bryce, goes to the University of Arizona, which is roughly an hour-and-a-half flight from LA.
If LeBron were to return to the Cavaliers for a third stint, it'd mean he'd have to move across the country, although it'd just be temporarily. It'd be the same for the Knicks.
LeBron's life is in Los Angeles
You might be thinking that it wouldn't be hard for his wife and daughter to either move across the state to San Francisco or across the country for just one season, but maybe he wouldn't want to disrupt his daughter's life in that way. She goes to school and plays volleyball in LA.
Staying in Los Angeles, where he could still live with Savannah and Zhuri and attend his daughter's events when he's able, could be enough to get him to re-sign with the Lakers. That's without factoring in Bronny and Bryce. The latter is redshirting his first year at Arizona, so assuming he stays with the Wildcats next season, staying on the West Coast would allow LeBron to catch more of his games.
ESPN did list the Clippers as a possible landing spot for LeBron, writing that league personnel wonder that if the NBA were to decide Steve Ballmer and Co. must void Kawhi Leonard's contract as part of the Aspiration scandal, they could offer the 41-year-old more money than the Lakers.
Suppose it comes down to money for him — maybe. Would he really want to end his career with a lesser organization, though? Remember, this is LeBron James we're talking about.
If he decides next season will be his last, enjoying a retirement tour with the Lakers would be an emphatic ending to his legendary career. The best part would be that he wouldn't have to leave his family and LA for that to happen.
While anything could happen this summer, the Lakers have advantages that other teams don't. And what's more important than family?