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LeBron James contemplated retirement after Thunder swept Lakers
LeBron James contemplated retirement after Thunder swept Lakers
LeBron James did indeed contemplate retirement after the Lakers were swept by the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second round. But he felt “incomplete,” the source said, in assessing the season. He’d been incredible in L.A.’s first-round upset of the Houston Rockets, playing without Luka Dončić for the whole series and with Austin Reaves for just 64 total minutes in six games. But James also saw that he’d been able to be a supporting cast member in the regular season, when Dončić was healthy and at his best, and Reaves became a dependable second scoring option.
More on LeBron James: Recent HoopsHype Rumors
Chris Haynes: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Memphis Grizzlies are negotiating a buyout and the veteran 3-&-D specialist intends to team back up with LeBron James and sign with the Philadelphia 76ers, league sources tell me. — 7/25/2026 x.com
According to at least three sources, everything changed in Philadelphia when first-year president of basketball operations Mike Gansey pulled off the bombshell acquisition of Brown, the 2024 NBA Finals MVP, from the Boston Celtics for George and four future picks — two firsts and two seconds — on July 1, after LeBron James had already announced his decision to leave the Lakers. Before that trade, the 76ers, internally, considered themselves longshots for James. Afterward, though, they were all in. “Now, we’ve got a pretty interesting roster,” said a team source with knowledge of the franchise’s pursuit of James, who was speaking after the Brown trade but before James picked Philadelphia. — 7/25/2026 New York Times
In the rarefied air where players like James reside, that gets your attention. “There’s no question, Jaylen Brown going to the Sixers changed them from a contending team to a championship-caliber team,” a league source with knowledge of James’ thinking,granted anonymity to speak freely, said Friday afternoon. — 7/25/2026 New York Times
Rich Paul told The Athletic he had been trying to get Bob Myers to come on the podcast for months; the invitation was not specifically tied to addressing James’ free agency. The 76ers, team sources said, had thought about the potential downside of Myers’ pitch being viewed as groveling publicly. But the upside of Myers — and his four rings from Golden State — speaking directly to Paul outweighed the potential minuses. “Bob Myers going on Rich Paul’s podcast was brilliant,” a coach for one of the other teams pursuing James told The Athletic. Myers’ appearance with Paul happened July 8 — 16 days before James made the final call. — 7/25/2026 New York Times
Florida’s Thomas Haugh is expected to be the highest-paid player in college basketball next season after he withdrew from the 2026 NBA Draft despite being projected a first-round pick. Matt Norlander of CBS reported Haugh’s earnings could exceed $10 million this season with the Gators, which is more than double what James will make. Following discussions with multiple college coaches, general managers and NBA scouts, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to protect competitive interests, we know these 18 players will all be making at least $3.9 million. — 7/25/2026 New York Times
Barkley told Stephen A. Smith on Friday that if the 76ers win two titles in LeBron James' two years in Philadelphia — that’s if he opts in to the second — after agreeing to a contract Friday, it would solidify his GOAT case. “If he wins back-to-back championships and walks away this thing at 44, 45. I’ll say something I ain’t never said before. This dude, I think I just saw the greatest basketball player ever,” Barkley told Smith. — 7/25/2026 New York Post
Though Barkley did mention that James has provided himself advantages with “stacking the deck” throughout his career when joining talented teams. “The number one knock on LeBron for older guys like myself has always been, ‘Yo, man, you always stacking your team,'” Barkley said. “He stacked in Miami. He stacked in Cleveland. He stacked in LA. Now he’s stacking it in Philly. So that to me, I’m going to still have the same criticism I’ve always had.” — 7/25/2026 New York Post
When LeBron James decided to join the Philadelphia 76ers on a two-year, $8 million contract, he locked in some interesting NBA history, becoming the player to take the biggest pay cut ever. After shattering the record for most points scored in a career, as well as most 1st Team All-NBAs, most All-Star appearances and most consecutive games scoring double-digit points, the biggest pay cut in NBA history doesn't quite have the same level of aura, but even then, it's more history made by the Akron native. — 7/24/2026 HoopsHype
Another player new to the Top 5 in this distinction, like James, is veteran swingman Khris Middleton, who signed a three-year, $17.61 million contract this offseason to rejoin the Washington Wizards. Middleton's new deal will pay him $5.59 million next season, after his previous deal had him earning $35.09 million last year, for a pay cut of $29.50 million, now the fourth-largest ever. — 7/24/2026 HoopsHype
President Donald Trump wondered if newly minted Philadelphia 76ers star LeBron James might be a “racist” on Friday when asked to pick who he believes to be the greatest basketball player of all time. Trump said he thinks that Michael Jordan is the best player ever. His reasoning was personal. “He’s a really good guy,” Trump said in the Oval Office. “I think LeBron is — maybe he’s a racist. But maybe he doesn’t like Trump. I don’t know. I only like people that like me. So I would say Michael Jordan all the way.” — 7/24/2026 New York Times
This article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: LeBron James contemplated retirement after Thunder swept Lakers