LeBron James Makes Decision on NBA Future
LeBron James Makes Decision on NBA Future
Ryan Phillips|
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Los Angeles LakersCleveland CavaliersMiami HeatLeBron James is not done yet.
The 41-year-old superstar has decided to play another season in the NBA, which will extend his run to a 24th campaign, a league record. However, he will not suit up for the Lakers next year. ESPN’s Shams Charania reported on Tuesday ahead of free agency’s official opening that James had informed Los Angeles he would play elsewhere.
BREAKING: LeBron James will continue his NBA career for the 2026-27 season and has informed the Los Angeles Lakers that the franchise can move on without him because he will play elsewhere, Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul tells ESPN. pic.twitter.com/zzVk6xUVF1
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 30, 2026
During the 2025–26 season, James averaged 20.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, 7.2 assists and 1.2 steals in 33.2 minutes over the course of 60 games. He dialed things up in the playoffs, as he bumped his averages to 23.2 points, 6.3 rebounds, 7.3 assists and 1.3 steals per game. L.A. was bounced from the playoffs in the second round after being swept by the Thunder.
It’s not clear where James will decide to play next season. There are plenty of options open to him, including a third tour of duty with the Cavaliers. But the most recent reports have linked The King to Golden State, where the Warriors are very interested in teaming James up with Steph Curry like they did on Team USA back in 2024. Draymond Green declined his player option for the upcoming season to try to make this reality.
A convincing case can be made that James is the greatest player of all time and the fact that he’s still an impactful player at his age is remarkable.
LeBron James career trajectory

Cleveland made James the No. 1 pick in the 2003 NBA draft, and he played with the franchise through the 2009-10 season. The Cavs reached the NBA Finals in 2007, where they were swept by the Spurs. He left the franchise in 2010 after repeated postseason failures.
Entering the 2026–27 season, James is the NBA’s all time leader in more than a dozen regular season categories, and owns nearly every individual postseason record.
He opted to team up with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami with the Heat. They lost to the Mavericks in the NBA Finals in 2011, but proceeded to win back-to-back titles in 2012 and ‘13, before losing to the Spurs in ‘14.
After that defeat, James returned to Cleveland for four years. In his first season back, Cleveland lost to the Warriors in the NBA Finals, but in 2015, James led his team back from down 3–1 to beat Golden State in seven games for the franchise’s first NBA title. The Cavs fell to the Warriors in the 2017 and ‘18 NBA Finals before James decided to move on.
He signed with the Lakers in the summer of 2018 and has been with the franchise since. After missing the postseason in 2019, L.A. won an NBA title in 2020. Playoff success has been fleeting since.
LeBron James career stats
Among his many records, James tops the regular record books in points (43,440), games (1,622), minutes (61,030) and field goals made (15,961), while he’s sixth in three-pointers (2,636), fourth in assists (12,061), sixth in steals (2,417), and 24th in rebounds (12,095).
With another solid season he could jump into the top 20 in rebounds, and should pass Jason Kidd (12,091) for third on the assists list, while he could threaten Chris Paul for the No. 2 spot (12,552).
James also has the highest value over replacement player in NBA history (156.61), he’s first in career box plus/minus (8.53), and is the only player in NBA history with at least 40,000 points, 11,500 rebounds and 11,500 assists.
He has four NBA MVP awards, and has been been an All-Star 22 times, while being named All-NBA first team a record 13 times, along with four second team selections and three third-team nods.
All of those records are great, but what James really wants is another NBA title. He has four to his name and has been named NBA Finals MVP alongside each of those victories. His last title came in 2020 with the Lakers in the NBA's COVID-19 bubble.
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Published 17 minutes ago | Modified 17 minutes ago
RYAN PHILLIPSRyan Phillips is a senior writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has worked in digital media since 2009, spending eight years at The Big Lead before joining SI in 2024. Phillips also co-hosts The Assembly Call Podcast about Indiana Hoosiers basketball and previously worked at Bleacher Report. He is a proud San Diego native and a graduate of Indiana University’s journalism program.
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Badenoch blasts 'moaning' female Labour MPs over Burnham jobs 'quota'
Kemi Badenoch has told Labour women to earn a job in Andy Burnham's Cabinet instead of demanding they are handed jobs because of their gender.
The Tory leader lashed out today amid reports that female MPs are demanding the de-facto new prime minister introduce a 50:50 gender split 'quota' in his government.
Amid reports that former foreign secretary David Miliband is being lined up to return to the role, possibly with his brother Ed as Chancellor, one female minister also complained that Burnham could not have 'more Milibands than women' in the top posts.
But in a scathing article in the Times today Mrs Badenoch told them to 'stop moaning' and get chosen on merit instead of retreating into 'more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country'.
'There are many, many reasons why you shouldn't have any Milibands in the cabinet,' she said.
'But complaining that the boys haven't given them the right jobs or that the boys are taking all the jobs, just shows that Labour's women still don't get it.'
The idea of quotas was also attacked by Baroness Jacqui Smith, Labour's Skills Minister.
Asked by Times Radio if Mr Burnham should reserve jobs for women, she said: 'No, I think what Andy Burnham should be doing is building the very best team around him to change this country.'
A letter written by the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party has called on Mr Burnham to ensure a 50:50 split between men and women in government jobs
Amid reports that former foreign secretary David Miliband (above, right, in 2010) is being lined up to return to the role, possibly with his brother Ed as Chancellor, one female minister complained that Burnham could not have 'more Milibands than women' in the top posts
But Mrs Badenoch told them to pipe down and get chosen on merit instead of retreating into 'more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country'
A letter written by the Women's Parliamentary Labour Party and seen by the BBC has called on Mr Burnham to ensure a 50:50 split between men and women in government jobs after he succeeds Sir Keir Starmer.
'We are asking you to demonstrate this change from day one and address the toxicity and misogyny within our own party and government,' it said.
Labour has never had a female leader, while the Conservatives have had three, and Mrs Badenoch urged the government to follow its meritocratic example.
'If you run a meritocracy, then you do not have to worry about jobs for the boys,' she wrote.
'Every woman who is a Conservative MP, every woman who has ever won the leadership, has had to fight to get where she is.
'By contrast, Labour women are demanding guarantees from Burnham. But the truth is he doesn't have to give any guarantees.
'If none of Labour's women are prepared to get their hands dirty and challenge him for the leadership, their demands are toothless.'
'In fact, it's quite revealing that the women's parliamentary Labour Party has written to Burnham asking him to commit himself to at least 50 per cent female ministers.
'This has nothing to do with meritocracy. It is yet more of the failed identity politics that is holding back our country.'
Venezuela Fury and Noah Price subsidising their life by livestreaming
Venezuela Fury and her husband Noah Price look to be making their own way in the world by raking it in from their lucrative social media accounts.
The influencer daughter of Tyson and Paris Fury, 16, has become an internet sensation after tying the knot with her husband Noah, 19, earlier this year.
Since getting married and moving in together the couple have been earning thousands of pounds a month, livestreaming their life as newlyweds in their static caravan in the East Riding of Yorkshire.
And fans can't get enough of their regular life updates on TikTok and Kick, which have proved to be very profitable for the pair.
They look to be supporting themselves after Noah denied that he was given £5million by Venezuela's family as a wedding gift.
Despite his wife's huge family wealth, an estimated combined £160 million, Noah recently told his Kick followers that he 'pays for everything' for the couple.
Making light of the claims about Venezuela's millionaire financial status, Noah said: 'I actually pay for everything unfortunately. You'd expect the millionaire to pay for it wouldn't you.'
Venezuela Fury and Noah Price are earning thousands livestreaming their caravan life - after her new groom insisted he pays all the bills and denied he had £5m handout from her dad
The influencer daughter of Tyson and Paris Fury , 16, has become an internet sensation after tying the knot with her husband Noah, 19, earlier this year
Venezuela then asked their fans: 'Do you think I am a millionaire?'
Noah joked: 'She isn't a secret millionaire guys', before she broke into song and sang: 'But I live like a millionaire!'
But it seems according to estimated calculations from their social media work, Noah and Venezuela can more than afford to support themselves.
Noah has been livestreaming on platforms such as Kick and TikTok, where viewers can send paid gifts or donations.
He was previously encouraging viewers to send gifts on his honeymoon during livestreams, suggesting this is one revenue stream.
Both Noah and Venezuela have built substantial followings on Instagram and TikTok. They can potentially earn money through sponsored posts, brand collaborations, affiliate links and creator payouts.
Kick allows its creators to take home 95 per cent of the £4.99 subscription cost that fans pay.
Streamers keep 100 per cent of direct tips and donations, minus minor standard payment processing fees.
It is unclear how many subscribers Noah currently has because this information is hidden, but he does have 7,200 followers which is publicly viewable.
An industry insider has suggested Noah is making around £400 per video on TikTok, while Venezuela is likely to make £2,000 due to her following count of 1.3 million.
An industry insider has suggested Noah is making around £400 per video on TikTok, while Venezuela is likely to make £2,000 due to her following count of 1.3 million
In one video on their honeymoon, Noah asked his followers if they'd give them some more gifts now that they were married.
In a TikTok live viewed by 20,000 he said: 'Keep liking our videos people, keep sending gifts.'
After saying thank you to several of his followers he joked they should stick around on the livestream and 'watch Venezuela punch me in the mouth'.
The other half of the honeymooning couple said: 'I am, honestly!'
Noah previously confirmed that the pair don't share their finances after they were asked whether they have a shared bank account.
'She earns her money, I earn mine,' said Noah, as Venezuela joked: 'Yeah, what you gonna do about it.'
Noah went on to debunk the rumour that Tyson gave him £5million when he tied the knot with his daughter as he insisted: 'No Tyson did not give me £5million'.
Meanwhile Venezuela is being eyed up by executives for a fly on the wall TV series.
Noah went on to debunk the rumour that Tyson gave him £5million when he tied the knot with his daughter as he insisted: 'No Tyson did not give me £5million'
Boasting 1.3 million TikTok followers, Venezuela is already entertaining fans with her honest musings and candid moments, from cooking to kitting out her and Noah's static caravan home.
And following the success of the Netflix series At Home With The Furys, it is no wonder bosses are wanting to draw on the Fury popularity.
A TV insider said: 'The couple are not A-list celebrities but everyone has become obsessed with their love story.
'People are genuinely intrigued by them. Whether it’s the fact they have married so young, Venezuela’s famous family or their gypsy lifestyle, they have the ‘X factor'.
'Several TV executives think a proper fly-on-the-wall series following their lives as newlyweds in the gypsy community would be fascinating,' they told The Sun.
It is thought Netflix would be likely to produce the series due to their already established relationship with the Furys.
Venezuela's representatives told The Daily Mail: 'We have many offers on the table regarding Venezuela which we are discussing.'