LeBron James: I thought I was done when the season ended. I wasn't ready to announce it, and I knew I needed some time to really decide, but I was pretty sure I played my last game. I was honest at that last press conference when I said I needed to look at myself and deicide if I still love this game. I still truly love this game, and I have more to give. The last few weeks have really been special. I’ve never been able to have no clue what to do and take real time to just think. I’ve had an incredible few months with all the people I love trying to figure it all out. This is my last decision. I’m not going for money. I’m not going for family. What am I really playing for at this point? I still want to sacrifice. I still want to work. I still want to grind.
I still want to compete, to win and to have a chance at the feeling of winning another championship. I believe I can help make the Philadelphia 76ers a championship team and I am so excited to energize a new fan base and start this incredible journey one last time. Thank you LA. Miami I’ll forever love and Northeast Ohio will always home! 🙏🏾🫡👑
More on LeBron James: Recent HoopsHype Rumors
SiriusXM NBA Radio: “I think the team already knows” @JumpShot8 Eddie Johnson tells @TermineRadio he believes LeBron James has already made his free agency decision and could be creating a competitive advantage over the other contenders. — 7/24/2026 x.com
League sources said LeBron James had been angling for former teammate Kyrie Irving to join him in Cleveland, but the Dallas Mavericks have had no interest in engaging the Cavaliers in a trade, and Irving is believed to be comfortable where he is. — 7/24/2026 ESPN
And while returning to the Cleveland Cavaliers for a third tour would seem like an ideal finish to his career, going back to Miami is simply the best fit. Both in terms of the basketball -- "He can go to the Finals with Miami," a former teammate of James told ESPN -- and the narrative. — 7/24/2026 ESPN
Derek Fisher: A lineup with Bam, Giannis, LeBron, Andrew Wiggins, I mean, they can switch everything defensively. It would be tough to score on that group. The Heat switched over last season, for sure, maybe parts of the season before, but they were playing really, really fast. They limited their pick-and-roll use, and they were using a little bit more of drive, kick, space, cuts, drifting, and I'm not sure if that's a style that they would stick with if Giannis is now there, combined with adding LeBron. — 7/24/2026 YouTube
Austin Reaves: Be true to yourself Reaves is a guard for the Los Angeles Lakers. After going undrafted out of Oklahoma, he signed a new contract this offseason. Reaves: LeBron James told me that my rookie year. I don’t smoke, I don’t drink, I don’t like going out. I stay in the house, and that was the first thing he told me. He was like, “Don’t try to fit in with anybody that you’re not. If you want to do something, do it. If not, do what you like to do.” I felt like a weight off my shoulders because I could just be myself every day instead of trying to act like somebody else. It’s not even necessarily anything to do with basketball or sports. I think it’s just life in general. Be yourself and be a good person, and at the end of the day, good things will happen.” — 7/24/2026 New York Times
Also, there have been suggestions made on TV this week that James made up his mind, changed it and is back to square one. Sources close to James told The Athletic those suggestions were “a lie.” Others have floated roster moves James might be holding out for, which Paul has said is not true. — 7/23/2026 New York Times
But as of Thursday morning, there is still no announcement. “Nobody knows right now except LeBron,” said a source close to James who spoke on a condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations, “and I’m not even sure LeBron knows.” — 7/23/2026 New York Times
And even though he is now a veteran in the league in his own right, he still views James and Rondo from those years as the most influential teammates he’s ever had. “I’d say probably Bron or Rondo,” Kuzma said in an appearance on the White Noise podcast. “[LeBron] got so much money that you just see a certain type of life that is maybe not attainable because not everybody can be a billionaire, but it’s like a North Star to you. Like this guy’s got a lot of motion and there’s other things off the court where it’s like, I actually can do more and you just gotta put your mind to it. “And then Rondo because he’s just so sophisticated, so smart basketball-wise. He’s like a savant, it like made you wanna pick up your acumen. He would call sometimes after a game at like 3 a.m., ‘Yo, what you doing?’ Like ‘I’m in bed.’ He’s like ‘Yo, turn the game on, go to 8:10 in the third quarter. What are you thinking here?’ And that’s like motivating, you know?” — 7/23/2026 Lakers Nation
Underdog NBA: Shams on LeBron: "My sources tell me that LeBron James, his agent Rich Paul … they're not waiting for another domino right now. They're not waiting for Anthony Davis to get traded anywhere, they're not waiting for anyone else to move around anywhere." — 7/23/2026 x.com
Heat Central: “Sources tell me LeBron James, his agent Rich Paul, they’re not waiting for another domino right now. They’re not waiting for Anthony Davis to get traded. CLE, MIA, GSW, PHI, MIN, they’re set. Those are the teams. This is going to be based on happiness, chance to contend for a championship, join a culture” — 7/23/2026 x.com
This article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: LeBron James thought he was done after 2025-26 season, says he joined 76ers because he believes he can make them championship team
