the logline for that movie<\/a> does not make me confident that such a concept would work. Now if he could recreate \u201cThe Fast and the Furious\u201d somewhere and infiltrate an NBA team as a secret undercover FBI agent, I\u2019m sold. The Spurs would just be for the Nike ads. The Timberwolves are the wrong midwestern city. Miami, been there, done that.<\/p>\nI can keep going, but, here\u2019s why the Pistons are the right answer. Mostly, because the Pistons make basketball sense. It is a young team with a new star who can take some of the burden off LeBron and let him cook as a playmaker and basketball genius. He\u2019d be part of the emerging West-to-East talent flow. And if the Pistons can win a championship, what a coda it would be for James\u2019 career. It would be unexpected and it would be novel and Madonna-esque. The rare superstar who can still surprise us with his reinventions decades into their career. (And you know where Madonna is from\u2026)<\/p>\n
What is the weirdest, most chaotic LeBron destination?<\/p>\n
Taylor: New York. I scrolled past a photoshopped picture of LeBron in a Knicks jersey and it just didn\u2019t seem right! They\u2019ve already won. They have their guys. It just feels like it would just be chaos. I really cannot even wrap my head around the idea. It would be like bringing your own elephant to the circus.<\/p>\n
Jones: The Clippers. Imagine the shock in Lakerland if James says, \u201cI never wanted to leave L.A., I just didn\u2019t want to be a Laker.\u201d That would be a twist on the happiness narrative.<\/p>\n
Head to the Clippers, play in a newer arena and partner with Brandon Ingram and Darius Garland. No need to move \u2014 just take a different freeway to work. With Kawhi Leonard gone, James would unquestionably be the biggest name in Clippers history. He\u2019d reunite with coach Tyronn Lue, too. This would send Laker fans into crashout mode, watching a player choose \u2026 the Clippers over the Lakers? James expressing his faith in Clippers ownership and the front office would be the kind of action that would have Laker fans calling for Rob Pelinka\u2019s ouster and begging the new ownership group to hurry up and remake the organization from top-to-bottom.<\/p>\n
Fader: OK, I know this is not a team necessarily linked to LeBron but can you imagine him on the Pistons?! There\u2019s just something about LeBron in Pistons red and blue that I feel wouldn\u2019t look wrong in the way that, for example, Hakeem Olajuwon joining Toronto at the end just looked extremely wrong in purple; an aberration of all sorts. Full stop: it shouldn\u2019t have ever happened.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s something so classic and throwback about a player like LeBron coming to Detroit, a city with so much soul and so much history that would be extremely cool. The retro jerseys, the sellouts. I mean, Detroit is a 60-win team that earned the right to have sellouts. But since they are kind of blowing it all up \u2014 Is Duren really going to the Lakers?! \u2014 why not throw a Hail Mary and bring LeBron.<\/p>\n
At the same time, it is extremely unlikely, and it is a weird pitch. And although Cade Cunningham would learn so much from him, I would hope there wouldn\u2019t be weird power struggles there between the two, and it could lead to awkward regression from a Pistons team that was finally finding its footing, to accommodating someone in their alleged last season. That might really suck.<\/p>\n
OK, my second most chaotic destination is Golden State. Just because of the drama of podcasting between Draymond Green and LeBron. It would be too meta, too much, and I\u2019m just over it. Also, what about the egos between him and Steph Curry? How would that work? I have too many questions. It would also crush my journalistic soul if LeBron got super tight with Silicon Valley and got into some really, really problematic AI stuff that will influence young people to further lean into AI in super destructive ways that some of us are hoping are still reversible.<\/p>\n
Vorkunov: Brooklyn.<\/p>\n
LeBron has flirted with New York all his time in the NBA. Who can forget 2010, when he made his Decision in a state that borders New York as both a tease and to rub salt in that wound. For years, the Knicks and its fans pined for LeBron.<\/p>\n
Now? They\u2019re good. They just won the NBA title. Maybe you missed it. Jalen Brunson sits on the throne. Going to the Knicks would be too frontrunnery. But Brooklyn? Now that is inspired!<\/p>\n
The Nets are in an existential moment in the city. Always the small up-and-comer who hoped to carve their own niche and fan base in New York and make it a two-team town, that has never felt further. Again \u2014 I don\u2019t know if you know this \u2014 the Knicks won the title last month. Did you see how the city exploded? Tough.<\/p>\n
For the Nets, that felt like when the WWF came out on Nitro and announced it bought WCW. The Monday Night Wars are over. But LeBron in Brooklyn would be something. He\u2019d put fans in seats and everyone would have to follow the Nets again. And the pizza, oh man, the pizza. New York is the second-best pizza state in the country (no, calm down, I\u2019m not talking about you, Connecticut). The whole free agent pitch could just be walking up to Di Fara for a slice.<\/p>\n
Somebody reported that LeBron is chasing happiness with this decision. Well, a great slice is the definition of happiness.<\/p>\n
Should this be the final chapter \u2013 one more year and done? Or are you open to LeBron playing as long as possible?<\/p>\n
Taylor: Wrap it up! I think this should be his final chapter. That\u2019s why I think Cleveland is the destination. Let\u2019s close all the circles, get some incredible stories and scenes, and say see ya later. We\u2019ve seen him dominate a news cycle a few times already like no one else. We\u2019ve seen him win in every city he\u2019s joined. We\u2019re aware he\u2019s still \u201chim.\u201d<\/p>\n
There\u2019s nothing left to prove and it\u2019s OK to leave while you\u2019ve still got gas in the tank.<\/p>\n
LeBron is still relatively young in real life (I obviously have a different view of aging) and there\u2019s so much more he could do or not do after he\u2019s done playing.<\/p>\n
Jones: Tom Brady played until he was 45. James might as well keep as long as he can, too. If he can play at 46, he\u2019d be the oldest player in NBA history. He will have almost every record at that point, so why not go for that, too. A \u201cdeclining\u201d James last season was pretty damn good. Maybe he\u2019s averaging 15 points and five assists at 45? It would be fascinating to see how long James can keep playing at such a high level.<\/p>\n
So play as long as you want, LeBron! It would get annoying if we have to wait year-to-year to see where he plays next, but it would also be entertaining. That a 41 year-old free agent dominated the news cycle proves there is still no one quite like LeBron James.<\/p>\n
Fader: Final chapter, please. What he has done at his age for this long and at this level is simply astounding. There is nothing left to prove. There is nothing left to mine. To chase. He did what no one thought was possible and he did it like no one else will ever be able to do it.<\/p>\n
When you know it\u2019s your last, each game, each possession, truly does mean more, and I think we will see the best of him, both physically and mentally, if it\u2019s settled that this is his last. I also think it will make for a much more introspective LeBron if he sets that up clearly from the get go. I don\u2019t want more quotes about playing hard or sticking together or swinging the ball this way or that way.<\/p>\n
I want to know what being back in your hometown feels like (Yes, I am assuming it\u2019s Cleveland). A restaurant you used to go to as a kid that is no longer there, and how being back here, knowing it is your last season, reminded you of one memory you had there when you swore to a family member one day you were going to make the NBA. I want that type of introspection. Anecdotes we haven\u2019t heard before. I want the podium to feel like fodder for a book. I want people to appreciate greatness in real time, and it\u2019s hard to do that when you think time is limitless.<\/p>\n
Is this the final year for LeBron?<\/p>\n
Dave DuFour and Dan Woike<\/p>\n
Vorkunov: Is it OK to say that I don\u2019t care? Not in the objective sportswriter sense, but just generally. We are living in the age of the gilded gerontocracy. Why shouldn\u2019t LeBron get to do it in his world, too. Once it\u2019s over for him, it\u2019s over. He can still ball and is not yet in the Ronaldo on the Portugese national team stage of life. We shouldn\u2019t force him out. Because when it\u2019s done, it\u2019s done.<\/p>\n
But the nice thing about life in 2026 is that we also get to choose our own realities now. If you\u2019re over LeBron, there are plenty of ways to train your NBA algo to avoid him. Nobody will make you watch him against the Bucks on Peacock in January.<\/p>\n
So let it ride, LeBron. Announce your next team while you film an Instagram reel with Taylor Swift from the dance floor of her wedding. Embrace your comeback to Cleveland or your Jordan Wizards era. Do you as long as you want.<\/p>\n
Getting ahead of ourselves, but what should LeBron\u2019s immediate move be after retiring from basketball?<\/p>\n
Taylor: I once watched a video of one of the \u201cI Promise\u201d kids graduating from University of Akron and it actually brought tears to my eyes. To know that LeBron is the reason young people from his hometown are attending college just makes my heart smile. I\u2019d love to see his post-playing career sidequests look more like that. Community impact is one way to not only enrich but extend the legacy he\u2019s built. Northeast Ohio would be all the better for it.<\/p>\n
Jones: The golf course.<\/p>\n
If social media has taught us anything about James, it\u2019s that golf is his new love. Channel that competitive energy to the golf course. Sit back, light a cigar, and contemplate where the James brand goes next. Seeing James bring his daughter on a road trip this season indicates just being a dad will be a big part of retirement. But there\u2019s no need for James to be anywhere near a basketball court upon retirement, unless it\u2019s a part of an ownership group.<\/p>\n
I hope after he takes a lot of time to rest in between rounds on the golf course that James contemplates working as an analyst in some capacity. His \u201cMind the Game\u201d podcast with Steve Nash is an interesting listen when he talks about basketball. I could see him joining a television broadcast at some point and talking about basketball. Maybe he\u2019ll talk about basketball on a golf course.<\/p>\n
But golf during the day and family the rest of the time seems like a reasonable plan for someone who has been in the spotlight since high school.<\/p>\n
Fader: Is it wild that I say\u2026 rest?<\/p>\n
I\u2019m going to say this for all the wives and daughters and families of these players. They spend most of their lives getting used to the NBA player being gone, and speaking in fragments, and scheduling FaceTimes and texts at this hour or this day.<\/p>\n
So when a career is over, I would hope they truly cherish the time with their families and not have to always be on the road. When you sign up to become a broadcaster or a coach after a playing career, it\u2019s the same exact thing in terms of time commitment. Always another flight. Always another game. Always another film session that went past midnight. My hope for him is that he enjoys the well-earned rest with his family.<\/p>\n
I am super excited for his daughter\u2019s potential volleyball career to move forward if she chooses it. Wouldn\u2019t it just be so cool to see him as AAU dad and not in the competitive way, but in the, \u201cI just brought snacks and I\u2019m in the back of the 20-court gym and even though everyone is here to see me, I am truly here to see my daughter,\u201d kind of way<\/p>\n
Now if I really want to suggest what he will do with his time \u2014 because I can\u2019t imagine a competitive person like LeBron allowing rest for too long \u2014 my nerdy self wants him to create a book imprint. Podcasting isn\u2019t what it used to be. It is too saturated now. But if you really want to solidify legacy and tell true stories, as he says he does with his brands, books are so valuable. The underdog of storytelling these days.<\/p>\n
We see the criticism of shows like Netflix that try to tell these documentaries but in a surface, shallow way; LeBron, you get the chance to have an imprint that can change the sports world, and get the baddest writers and put them all together to tell stories that last a lifetime. How you would have wanted them to be told. Of course it could and probably very much will have the same bias as the documentaries, but if you really want to help the next generation (as you most certainly do, given all the efforts you have put into education), then I know you will love the idea of helping young children learn how to read and become life-long readers. Imagine how many will pick up a book because LeBron has an imprint and says reading is cool.<\/p>\n
Vorkunov: Has LeBron considered professional wrestling? He probably won\u2019t top Bill Russell\u2019s 11 NBA championships, but there\u2019s plenty of time to surpass John Cena\u2019s 17 world titles.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LeBron James is back \u2014 we just don\u2019t know where or what that actually means yet. The legendary…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":737379,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[64],"tags":[8174,1055,355,99],"class_list":["post-737378","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-cleveland-cavaliers","tag-los-angeles-lakers","tag-nba","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/737378","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=737378"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/737378\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/737379"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=737378"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=737378"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=737378"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}