The LeBron James sweepstakes amid the NBA free agency is still in full swing, and no one outside of the four-time NBA Most Valuable Player appears to have an idea where exactly he will take his talents next.
Will it be the Golden State Warriors, Philadelphia 76ers, or Miami Heat? Those are the teams rumors have linked James the most to. And of course, the Cleveland Cavaliers.
A return to the Cavs sounds like a great story for the future Basketball Hall of Famer, but until an official announcement is made, Cleveland is still just a possible landing spot for James.
Meanwhile, sports media personality Bill Simmons seems convinced that LeBron James is coming home to where it all started for him in the NBA.
After saying that the Warriors are “being used as a leverage,” via his eponymous podcast, Simmons stated that “the Cleveland thing is done.”
“And now it’s pretty clear they (Golden State) were being used as leverage as LeBron goes back to Cleveland… the Cleveland thing is done,” – Bill Simmons on LeBron’s free agency sweepstakes 👀👀👀 pic.twitter.com/Z9OBX8ADUB
— ESPN Cleveland (@ESPNCleveland) July 10, 2026
If James returns to Cleveland, it’s not just for nostalgia purposes. The Cavs are legitimate contenders for an NBA title, and James could be the one to help the team get over the hump — just like he did before, when he returned to The Land after a stint with the Miami Heat.
While he’s already 41 and turning 42 in December, James can still offer a lot to the Cavaliers, who made a deep run in the 2026 NBA Playoffs before getting swept by eventual NBA champions New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals.
In the 2025-26 NBA season with the Los Angeles Lakers, James put up averages of 20.9 points on 51.5 percent shooting from the field, 7.2 assists and 6.1 rebounds through 60 games.