There’s no indication LeBron James wants to play for any team other than the Los Angeles Lakers before his legendary career finally comes to a close. The four-time champion has a player option on his contract for next season, though, and he’s yet to clarify that longtime dreams of suiting up with his son, Bronny, have vanished entirely. Could James’ prospective free agency and his son being selected in the 2024 NBA Draft prompt him to leave the purple-and-gold?
Chances are definitely still against it. But should James play for any team other than Los Angeles going forward, a new betting favorite has emerged to employ him.
The San Antonio Spurs are at +300 to land James if he ever bails on the Lakers, per BetOnline, better odds than those any other team in basketball. His hometown Cleveland Cavaliers and the Chicago Bulls are next up at +400 and +500, respectively, while the New York Knicks and Dallas Mavericks round out the top-five at +600 odds each.
San Antonio, by the way, could create enough space below the salary cap to sign James outright in free agency if necessary. The team has just over $100 million in committed salary to nine players for 2024-25, and could surely get off Zach Collins’ $16.7 million salary by attaching a draft pick sweetener via trade, taking back non-guaranteed money. With the cap set for $142 million, the Spurs would have the financial flexibility to sign James in that scenario.
It’s not like San Antonio would be the only team in basketball capable of adding James during the offseason if he really was keen on leaving Los Angeles, though. Franchises would be lining up to create avenues to bring him in, even at his 40th birthday approaches next December.
But the Spurs feature a pair of trump cards that could loom extremely large in this hypothetical scenario: Gregg Popovich and Victor Wembanyama. James’ fondness for Popovich is longstanding and well-known. In the past, he’s even publicly professed a desire to play for the winningest coach in NBA history. It’s safe to say that hasn’t changed since San Antonio won last year’s draft lottery, making an all-time talent like Wembanyama—who James recently called an “alien”—the new face of of the franchise’s next era.
Attractive as the presence of Popovich and Wembanyama may make the Spurs to James, the only semi-realistic way he takes his talents to the Alamo next season and beyond is if San Antonio has already drafted Bronny. The younger James’ freshman season at USC hasn’t quite gone as planned, beginning with him suffering a cardiac arrest in August that briefly cast doubt on his playing career before it really got off the ground.
But James’ up-and-down performance also means the Spurs might not have trouble finding a way to select him in the draft if management gets the feeling his dad wants to join him in silver and black. San Antonio could certainly use more shooting and connective passing in the backcourt, too. Bronny would be a snug fit for how the Spurs play on both sides of the ball.
Vegas sometimes has a jump on even the most plugged-in newsbreakers when it comes to a player’s future destination. Maybe some intel on James’ theoretical willingness to play in San Antonio is driving these latest odds. Either way, until there’s concrete reporting on him potentially signing with an outside suitor in free agency or Bronny is drafted by a team other than the Lakers, don’t get too worked up about the prospect of James playing elsewhere. All indications still suggest he’s locked in with Los Angeles.
