Follow us on Google Discover LeBron James is with the Philadelphia 76ers now, but things could have been different. A recent report suggested what could have potentially made him stay with the Los Angeles Lakers.
LeBron James spent eight seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers, having joined as a free agent in 2018. The King brought a championship to LA in 2020, cementing himself as a Laker great.
However, once the franchise traded for Luka Doncic, it was obvious the team would be built around the young superstar. And this offseason, James set off for a different challenge with the Philadelphia 76ers.
It seemed like a foregone conclusion that LeBron would not return to the Lakers, but reports are now emerging suggesting that it could have all worked out differently.
Photo by Harry How/Getty ImagesLeBron James could have stayed with Los Angeles Lakers if he knew about ownership change
Mark Walter, who had just bought the Lakers for $10 billion in 2025, sold them earlier this week in a surprising move. Bob Iger and Joshua Kushner bought the team for $12.5 billion.
Doncic has already spoken about looking forward to working with the new ownership. And it seems had James known it was coming, it could have affected his decision too.
A source close to LeBron said the ownership change by the Lakers “maybe” would have influenced his decision if it happened first, per @mcten 👀
“Maybe. … Communication could have been better [with Bob Iger and Josh Kushner, compared to Mark Walter]. Just a different… pic.twitter.com/zEM9cIU2wt
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) August 14, 2026
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“Maybe… Communication could have been better (with Bob Iger and Josh Kushner, compared to Mark Walter). Just a different relationship,” a source close to James told Dave McMenamin.
The report goes on to say, “But the basketball piece was the most important, so maybe not from that standpoint.”
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It seemed that LeBron’s time in LA was up based just on the fit. Doncic requires different things, and at his age, James also likely wants to have a bigger impact. Some Lakers fans would have loved to see him stay, though.
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