LeBron James next team odds: Where will the King play next?

After recently noting that he’s “got a lot to think about” regarding his future in basketball, LeBron James opened the door to speculation that he may not play for the Los Angeles Lakers next year.

The latest: The most likely path forward is that LeBron returns to play for the Lakers next season, and they are heavily favoured to retain his services. But LeBron’s talk of retirement, paired with the Lakers’ roster flexibility, means other teams could have a shot at the power forward.

Here are our latest LeBron next team odds as the future Hall of Famer weighs his options for the coming season.

LeBron next team odds

NBA odds as of 3:00 p.m. ET on 05/24/2023.

Odds for LeBron's next team

The favourite: Lakers (-10,000)

L.A. is the obvious favourite to be LeBron’s team at the start of the 2023-24 season. He’s already a Laker — and he’s under contract to remain a Laker.

This past August, LeBron inked a two-year extension that includes a player option for 2024-25. His annual salary is the highest in the NBA, and Spotrac estimates he’ll rake in just south of $47 million next year.

So who would want to mess with that? Probably not LeBron, who’s now spent five seasons in SoCal.

And though we won’t pretend to get inside the head of the King, he should feel heartened by his team’s post-trade-deadline turnaround this year.

From Feb. 10 through the end of the regular season, the Lakers had the second-best record in the NBA (18-8). After surviving the play-in round, they surged all the way to the Western Conference finals.

Looking ahead to the fall, L.A.’s only rotation players with guaranteed contracts are LeBron, Anthony Davis and Jarred Vanderbilt. As long as LeBron is committed to staying put, the Lakers should have plenty of flexibility to build another contending team around him.

Next best odds

Any other team (+1,000)

Given how heavily favoured the Lakers are to retain LeBron (who, again, is under contract with them), it makes sense that the field has the next shortest odds.

Because if LeBron intends to play next season, but not as a Laker, it’s anyone’s guess where his eventual landing spot would be.

Especially when you consider that a team would have to trade for LeBron (barring any contractual wizardry that would make him a free agent).

The 38-year-old is obviously well past his prime, but his 28.9 PPG this year suggests he’s still got plenty in the tank. Not every team has the means to acquire a talent like him, and then there’s also the consideration of taking on his mammoth contract.

We wouldn’t advise betting against the favoured Lakers on this market, but if you want to, taking the remaining field is the best route.

Cavaliers (+2,500)

Could we see LeBron return home? Again?

Cleveland had the lucky lottery ball in 2003 to land LeBron — a northeast Ohio native — with the No. 1 draft pick. He spent seven seasons there before infamously taking his talents to South Beach.

Through a Sports Illustrated story in 2014, LeBron announced he was “coming home” to Cleveland. His Cavs went to the NBA Finals in four straight seasons and won the title in 2016.

Returning to the Cavaliers could make sense as LeBron’s final chapter, but ... Cleveland may not want a reunion with its foremost son.

For the first time in the post-LeBron era, the Cavs returned to the playoffs this year. Their four best players are in their early-to-mid-20s. Adding LeBron could be a deviation from this trajectory as opposed to a logical next step.