Kendrick Perkins Makes Prediction for LeBron James' NBA Future

LeBron James just finished up his 23rd NBA season, suffering a second-round playoff loss to the reigning-champion Oklahoma City Thunder.

As he enters the 2026 NBA offseason, James has three options as an unrestricted free agent: return to the Los Angeles Lakers, sign with another team or retire.

James revealed that he’s yet to make a decision during an episode of 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.

"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 added. “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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James’ longtime competitor/former Cleveland Cavaliers teammate Kendrick Perkins weighed in with his thoughts during an appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show.”

“If it’s LeBron’s last year, I would love to see LeBron in New York in a Knicks uniform,” Perkins said. “That would be so legendary.”

Perkins also wouldn’t mind seeing James return to Cleveland.

“I would love to see him, really, go back home where it all started,” Perkins said of his former AAU teammate. “I think it would be a perfect ending.”

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That being said, Perkins feels James still has more than one season left in his NBA career.

“I don’t think LeBron James retires after next year, to be honest,” Perkins said. “I think he’s got two or three more years left in the tank.”

As 41-year-old All-Star for the Lakers, James averaged 23.2 points, 7.3 assists and 6.7 rebounds per game in the playoffs.

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This story was originally published May 21, 2026 at 12:02 PM.