Jeanie Buss Drops Major Hint About LeBron James' Future With Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers have 28 regular-season games during the 2025-26 campaign and will likely punch their ticket to the NBA playoffs, hoping to make a deep run and compete with the best of the best in the Western Conference for a chance to advance to the NBA Finals.

Although there's still some basketball left to be played, all the attention right now seems to be on the upcoming NBA offseason and what the Lakers will do, especially regarding the future of superstar LeBron James.

The future Hall of Famer has yet to reveal what his plans are beyond this season, and that may be by design. The most likely scenario seems to be that he'll become a free agent this summer and sign with either the Cleveland Cavaliers for a third stint, joining forces with Donovan Mitchell and James Harden, or the Golden State Warriors, where he'd play with Stephen Curry and Draymond Green.

Jeanie Buss: LeBron James Hasn't Said He Wants to Come Back to Lakers

Jeanie Buss on LeBron:

“I never say never, but you know, he certainly hasn’t given an indication, as to…, he certainly has earned the right to decide how his career will go, he continues to impress, getting a trip-doub last night was amazing, so, you know, he’s a great player.” pic.twitter.com/hZojncSfdy
— SLO HOOPS FAN 🇸🇮 (@SloHoopsFan) February 17, 2026

One reason many believe James will leave the Lakers is that his relationship with Jeanie Buss and the team's brass has soured, especially after recent revelations.

On Tuesday, in an interview with Alex Sherman of CNBC, Buss was asked about James' future with the team and didn't hesitate to say that the four-time NBA champion hasn't given any indication that he intends to return to the Lakers next season.

“Never say never, but you know, he certainly hasn’t given an indication,” said Buss. “He’s earned the right to decide how his career will go, and you know, he continues to impress.”

Buss made it clear that the team is all in on building around the new face of the franchise, Luka Doncic, moving forward.

“The partnership will give us the stability to continue to move forward as we build towards a team around Dončić,” Buss said. “We couldn’t be more proud that he is a Laker. He is a young all-star that the fans love to see.”

It makes perfect sense that the team would focus on building around Doncic as he is the future and currently in his prime while being a legitimate NBA MVP candidate, averaging a league-leading 32.8 points per game.

It'll be interesting to see what the future holds for James and the Lakers franchise, with only a few months left before a decision needs to be made about what he intends to do after his contract with Los Angeles expires.