From 2010-14, LeBron James, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, donned the Miami Heat red and black, where he played arguably the best basketball of his storied career. He helped Miami win two NBA titles with four Eastern Conference Titles, taking the league by storm before heading back home to Cleveland, Ohio, in the summer of 2014.
There’s been some minor speculation that James could return to Miami — though it remains unlikely. However, one of the anonymous 20 voters in ESPN’s annual offseason poll claims that James will be in Miami at the start of the 2026-27 season.
Five of the panelists said he’d retire, while seven others said he’s return to the Lakers. Other teams who received votes were the Cleveland Cavaliers (for the third time), Golden State Warriors and Dallas Mavericks.
Now entering his 23rd season, James, who turns 41-years-old in December, is entering the final year of his contract. His agency, Klutch Sports, sent a fairly cryptic message when he opted into his $52.4 million player option in late June.
When he’s healthy, he still plays at a high level. He averaged 24.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 8.2 assists per game last season, shooting 51.3 percent from the floor, 37.6 percent from 3-point range and 78.2 percent from the charity stripe.
There’s a nonzero chance James returns to Miami — but I wouldn’t put it at greater than one or two percent. My guess is that he either retires or stays in Los Angeles. Real bold, I know!
In four seasons with the Heat, he posted 26.9 points, 7.6 rebounds, 6.7 assists and 1.7 steals across 294 games alongside Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. Hypothetically, would you bring in James for one or two more seasons if it were a legitimate option? Let us know in the comments!
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nope. who here would want to see a lot of flops and missed defensive assignments?! i even cringe at just thinking of it
A 5% chance of getting an almost 42 year old LeBron? My toes are tingling! (RIP Mad Dog)
If that happened, things would be, “never better.”
In the world of mercenaries, you can’t go home again. If your ex leaves you over 10 years ago, you don’t take her back now because she’s looking for a place to land. FTS!
They need a place to land when all the runways have closed.
I didn’t mean to imply that it would be great to have LeBron back. Like you say, that ship has sailed. I was just responding to RC and paying homage to one of Miami’s greatest as a tight end and radio personality. Those were some of the greatest days in Miami sports history, when WQAM ruled and we had all those wonderful broadcasters, including the incomparable Neil (“loan me fifty dollars,”) to which I owe my user name.
great broadcaster of dolphin games ALRIGHT MIAMI.riding around with my windows down love u maddog,go blue btw
When my daughter was little, we used to watch his (Sunday night, I think) tv segment, Ask Mad Dog. She got a real kick out of that. It was really funny.
Being on the west coast, I’m not familiar with all the Miami personalities. I didn’t start following the Heat until after James left the team (when Dragic arrived).
neil god hank mad dog 3 icons on radio. neil god the quickest wittiest mind ive ever heard on radio.hanks temper was hilarious.mad dogs phrases he came up with were classics.doggy wasnt that knowledgeable about the other sports but his delivery was so good he would entertain u.sports talk is dead down here theyre all terrible on qam even joe rose.
Jeff Deforest was another excellent radio guy.
more of a comedian he was funny.eddy k knew baseball like nobody else
he’d be our best player id welcome it maybe wade comes out of retirement he;d be our second best player
That ship sailed over 10 years ago. On to new business.
if lebron said he wanted to play for the heat sunmans response would be
Not sure what he would say, but I would say “you’re already a billionaire, play for the minimum and mentor our youngsters “.
would he not be our best player
Since we’re talking about next year, I don’t know. If age and injuries take their toll, he might not be.
24 8 8 51% 38% 70g still top 10 player rc.lebron spends lots $$ keeping bod in tip top shape.still a ss(top 10 player) bam might be top 30 player.now hes to bz with aja.expect an engagement announcement forthcoming.heres another guy who never really took his game to another level.who we waited for that to happen.moms living in beautiful house i hear though.
That’s what he did this past season. He is still a very talented player. But I want to see how he does this season. Past success is no guarantee of future results.
“Play for veteran’s minimum and we’ll put your name in the rafters. Otherwise, maybe Cleveland or L.A. will do it.”
lake show just needed a decent center was a marcus smart pickup to get ayton fills a big need.no puns intended.i like our team minus ty n dunc.finally gonna have a nice defensive team.im hoping herro is traded eventually the sooner the better.dejonte murray and zion for ty wiggy jovic..i will lose approximately 300-400 posts this year with the trade of uncan.