Getty
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.
LeBron James is still a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, but the league’s all-time leading scorer will be a free agent this summer, and while he remains a key piece for the team, it looks like he will be ending his tenure with the franchise this offseason, according to several recent reports.
While James himself has yet to comment about that speculation, or announce anything about his future, whether that be with the Lakers, another team, or potential retirement, the superstar recently dropped a few cryptic posts on his Instagram story.
Lebron shared a variety of quotes on his IG
The posts, which disappear after just 24 hours, included quotes that some are signaling James is finally acknowledging his time with the Lakers is coming to an end.
Additionally, there has been a report by ESPN’s Tim McMahon that his recent reported ‘grumpiness‘ is due to his knowing the team is looking forward to a future with Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.
LeBron James Drops Cryptic Instagram Posts
Throughout his entire career, even before it began in the NBA in 2003, James has been squeaky clean with his public image. While that’s kept him out of any potential controversy over the past two decades-plus, it is only pertinent to bring up due to the fact that James could very well know what he is doing by dropping these posts featuring quotes on his Instagram.
Here are the four quotes James posted amid his uncertain future with the Lakers:
“Control your seven 7’M. Mind, mouth, moves, morning, meal, money, and mood.”
“The faker you are, the bigger your circle will be. The realer you are, the smaller your circle will be. These are well known facts.”
“You can be a good person with a kind heart and still say no.”
“The new wealthy,” the final post read with an infographic. “Slow mornings. A loving marriage. Healthy bodies. A thriving garden. Time. Home cooked meals.”
While some might not see the posts as too out of the blue, they were sandwiched in between James promoting posts featuring USC women’s basketball superstar Juju Watkins wearing his sneakers, along with a post from his recent Mind The Game podcast episode with Tyrese Haliburton of the Indiana Pacers.
As mentioned, James’ public persona has been fine-combed since he entered the league. However, this season has seen somewhat of a drastic shift, with the star being more open about his future and personal life. According to McMahon, that sometimes perceived grumpiness is due to James knowing his future with the Lakers is nearing an end.
“We all understand the Lakers are a roster remodeling around Luka and Austin Reaves away from being in the conversation of contenders,” MacMahon said on The Hoop Collective podcast. “And I think part of LeBron’s grumpiness— and this is obviously speculation; I’m not inside his head— part of his grumpiness is probably the realization that he’s not going to be part of that…I won’t say it’s not gonna happen for certain, but it’s very unlikely that he’s back with the Lakers next season. He’s not going out in L. A. on his own terms.”
LeBron James Lakers Future, Cavaliers Return, And Retirement Rumors
Since he picked up his player option with the Lakers over the offseason, and the subsequent interview James’ agent, Rich Paul, gave to ESPN’s Shams Charania, there has been mass speculation that the 2025-26 season would be his last in Los Angeles.
“LeBron wants to compete for a championship,” Paul told ESPN. “He knows the Lakers are building for the future. He understands that, but he values a realistic chance of winning it all. We are very appreciative of the partnership that we’ve had for eight years with Jeanie [Buss] and Rob [Pelinka] and consider the Lakers as a critical part of his career.”
In a brief timeline of the other reporting about James’ uncertain Lakers future, Charania, Jake Fischer, and other league insiders have also confirmed through their own reporting that the league’s all-time leading scorer will not be on the Lakers next 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 on a recent appearance on the Pat McAfee Show, 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.”
Additionally, in a recent live stream, Fischer confirmed that both sides are ready for a breakup.
“The Lakers are ready to move on from LeBron James and I think LeBron James is ready to move on from the Lakers as well,” Fischer said on his YouTube show. “That’s kind of the foregone sentiment in Los Angeles right now about what’s to come this summer.”
James himself has hinted at retirement more than a future on another team over the past few months. ESPN’s Dave McMenamin reported that the evidence is mounting on a potential retirement after this season, but others like Sam Quinn of CBS Sports don’t think James will leave the NBA without a retirement tour.
LeBron James on how much longer he plans to play before retirement: “I don’t know the answer to that right now”
There have also been rumors about James making a final-season return to the Cleveland Cavaliers. A recent report emerged about Donovan Mitchell and James Harden recruiting the 41-year-old back to his former team, but that has yet to be confirmed by any top league insider.
More on James’ uncertain future with the Lakers, rumors about a Cavaliers return, and potential retirement after this season:
Eli Gregorski is a sports journalist covering the NBA for Heavy Sports. He has years of sports writing experience covering the NBA, NFL, college football and basketball, international soccer, and Formula One. He graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder, where he was the assistant sports editor for the award-winning CU Independent student publication. More about Eli Gregorski
More Heavy on Lakers
Loading more stories