Four years together on the Miami Heat and a lifelong friendship have afforded now-Prime analyst Dwyane Wade insight into LeBron James’ thought processes.
Wade does not know for sure whether James plans to retire at the end of the 2025-26 season if the Los Angeles Lakers bow out to the Oklahoma City Thunder, or whether James wants to stay in L.A. or take his talents to another team for another year. But he believes the James he knows will need some time to think it over.
“That’s the question,” Wade, who made four consecutive NBA Finals and won two championships alongside James, said during the Game 4 broadcast. “I think, if we all know LeBron James, he’s gonna take some time off and go drink some wine. He’ll go out a little bit around the world, but he’s gonna spend some time with his family. He’s gonna sit down and try to make the best decision for the James family at the end of the day.”
At the time of Wade’s comments, the Lakers, trailing 3-0 in the series against the defending champions, were losing in Game 4. A loss ends the Lakers’ season.
Late in the second quarter, play-by-play announcer Kevin Harlan, Wade and fellow analyst Candace Parker began discussing James’ future. James is a free agent after this season, so if he continues his career, he could decide to play with Los Angeles or elsewhere.
Wade feels much of that decision depends on the competitive outlook in Los Angeles.
“You’ve got to look at the picture of the Lakers,” Wade said. “Bron is in Year 24, coming back next year. He wants to play for something. And so, are they in a position that he can play for something and compete for something?”
Through the first seven years of his career with the Cleveland Cavaliers, James made the playoffs five times and the finals once, losing to the San Antonio Spurs in 2007. He then made “The Decision” to join perennial All-Stars Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami during summer 2010.
Over the next eight seasons, four with Wade in Miami and another four back in Cleveland, James led his teams to the NBA Finals every year consecutively, winning three championships.
In his eight seasons since with Los Angeles, he has missed the playoffs twice, the same number of times he has reached the conference finals or beyond, including winning the 2020 NBA Finals in the COVID-19 bubble.
In 2025, the franchise made a blockbuster trade deadline deal for then-25-year-old MVP candidate Luka Dončić. With Dončić, the Lakers reached the playoffs last season before losing in five games in the first round to the Minnesota Timberwolves. This season, Dončić led the league in scoring at 33.5 points per game before suffering a Grade 2 hamstring strain in early April. He has not played in the postseason.
Wade acknowledged he does not have any definitive answers about James’ future, though he said “history shows that Mr. James ain’t taking a lot of discounts.”
“I don’t think no one knows,” Wade said. “I think one of the things that him and his entire team have been great at is they hold their cards close to their chest. Decisions are made by LeBron, and they all respect it, and they wait on him to decide what he wants to do. So I don’t think none of us can go there until he makes the decision for sure.”
