Has LeBron James taken his final bow as an NBA superstar?
Back in January, the odds that King James would retire before the beginning of the 2026-27 season were slightly longer than the odds that he would give it another go.
And now that James and his Lakers have been eliminated from the NBA playoffs, bettors are diving into the odds for where LeBron could land next.
Here are the latest lines at Oddschecker.com as of May 12.
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LeBron James next team/retirement odds
Stays with Lakers/retires: +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)
This past season, James helped lead the Lakers to a 53-29 record in the regular season.
Then came the postseason.
Even though bettors were skeptical about the Lakers when it came to their playoff futures, they secured the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference and defeated Houston 4-2 in the first round.
However, Los Angeles got bounced by Oklahoma City in the conference semifinals, 4-0.
Even if the Lakers’ second-round exit ends up being James’ curtain call, the imprint he’s left on the league in his more than 20 years has been immeasurable.
He’s 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 boards and 7.4 assists over the course of his career.
