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Has LeBron James bowed out as an NBA superstar?
As of January, the odds of King James retiring before the start of the 2026-27 season were slightly higher than the odds of him trying again.
And now that James and his Lakers have been eliminated from the NBA playoffs, bettors are weighing the odds on where LeBron could land next.
Here are the latest lines on Oddschecker.com as of May 12.
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LeBron James next team/retirement odds
Stays with Lakers/retirement: +108 (bet $10 to win $20.80 total)
Cleveland Cavaliers: +213 (bet $10 to win $31.30 total)
Golden State Warriors: +669 (bet $10 to win $76.90 total)
Phoenix Suns: +900 (bet $10 to win $100 total)
Denver Nuggets: +900 (bet $10 to win $100 total)
San Antonio Spurs: +2400 (bet $10 to win $250 total)
New York Knicks: +2400 (bet $10 to win $250 total)
Los Angeles Clippers: +4900 (bet $10 to win $500 total)
Remaining teams: +9900 (bet $10 to win $1,000 total)
Last season, James helped the Lakers go 53-29 in the regular season.
Then came the playoffs.
Even though bettors were skeptical about the Lakers’ future in the playoffs, they secured fourth place in the Western Conference and beat Houston 4-2 in the first round.
However, Los Angeles was defeated by Oklahoma City in the conference semifinals, 4–0.
Even if the Lakers’ second-round elimination ends up being James’ wake-up call, the mark he left on the league over his 20-plus years has been immeasurable.
He played for the Cavaliers, Heat and Lakers, winning titles with each franchise. He won Rookie of the Year, has four regular-season MVPs and is a 22-time All-Star.
Additionally, the King has four Finals MVPs and has averaged 26.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and 7.4 assists in his career.
