NBA Insider Predicts Timeline for LeBron James' Decision

LeBron James has a decision to make as he heads into the 2026 offseason following his 23rd NBA campaign.

The 41-year-old NBA superstar is an unrestricted free agent with a variety of paths ahead of him. He could either re-sign with the Los Angeles Lakers, take his talents to another NBA franchise or end his all-time great career with a retirement announcement.

ESPN NBA insider Brian Windhorst, who’s been covering James’ career since his high school days at St. Vincent-St. Mary, thinks he has an idea when The King will announce his highly-anticipated decision.

"I think by the draft which is 1 month from today, we will know whether LeBron will be a Laker or not,” Windhorst said on Friday morning.

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James openly discussed his decision-making process during the “Mind the Game” podcast on Thursday.

"I'm still in the moment of just taking my time," James told his co-host Steve Nash. "I haven't even really thought about it too much. Obviously, I understand that I'm a free agent and I can control my own destiny - being here with this franchise for a foreseeable future or if it's going somewhere else.”

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"But like, I haven't even really even got to that point. I haven't even taken my family vacation yet, which is going to happen after Memorial Day,” he continued. “That's kind of the thing at the forefront of my mind. But, I think at some point in June, late June, as July rolls around, free agency starts to get going and as July rolls around and maybe into August, we start to kind of get a feel of what my future may look like."

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This story was originally published May 22, 2026 at 12:25 PM.