ESPN pundit Stephen A Smith was back on his soap box on “First Take,” this time musing about a possible Cleveland Cavs-LeBron James reunion to cap the future Hall of Famer’s legendary career.
“He’d have a better chance at winning a championship in Cleveland than he would in LA,” Smith said in part.
James, an Akron native, already made a return to Cleveland after leaving via the infamous “Decision” and taking his talents to South Beach where he won two titles with the Miami Heat. The 2015-16 Cavs won a title with LeBron, a young Kyrie Irving and prime Kevin Love on the roster.
“First Take” co-host Marcus Spears didn’t seem amused by Smith’s musing, delivering a healthy dose of side-eye to his colleague throughout the rant.
“If LeBron James came back to Cleveland, you’re the favorites to come out of the East,” Smith added.
Last season, the Cavs finished as the top seed in the Eastern Conference with a 64-18 record, but they lost in the Eastern Conference Semis to the Indiana Pacers, who eventually reached the NBA Finals.
Despite his age (he’ll celebrate his 41st birthday in December), James continues to play at an elite level. In 70 games (all starts) for the Lakers last season, the four-time MVP averaged 24.4 points, 8.2 assists and 7.8 rebounds per game with 7.7 win shares.
Of course, James already exercised his $52.6 million player option to return to the Los Angeles Lakers for the 2025-26 season, meaning he’d only be able to reunite with the Cavs via trade.
Complicating matters further, James has a no-trade clause in his contract. His agent, Rich Paul, seemed to put trade rumors to bed recently by pointing that out, but he did say, “It’s up to (LeBron) if he wants to get traded.”
In any case, there’s a finite amount of NBA games remaining for James. And while it’s true that he could likely dictate how his career ends, this just seems like more of Stephen A being Stephen A by drumming up a narrative he’d like to see play out.