LeBron’s Last Dance – what next for James after Lakers exit?

At the start of the 1997-98 season, then Chicago Bulls head coach Phil Jackson told his players that it would be their last as the dynasty that dominated the NBA throughout their decade.

With NBA titles in 1991, 1992, 1993, 1996 and 1997, Jackson set out to complete a second three-peat with a squad spearheaded by the trio of Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman.

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Jackson labelled that season the Last Dance, which would later become the name of a popular Netflix documentary framed around that historic campaign.

The Bulls would win a sixth championship with Jackson, Jordan, Pippen and Rodman all then leaving Chicago.

Almost three decades later, and another of the NBA’s all-time greats. LeBron James, is facing similar territory himself with his own last dance.

On Tuesday, the four-time NBA Most Valuable Player and 22-time All-Star announced he will be departing the Los Angeles Lakers after an eight-year stay.

At 41, James’ next move is likely to be his NBA swansong but how did we get here and where could he next be playing?

LeBron’s Lakers legacy

The first season of LeBron James and Anthony Davis together at the Los Angeles Lakers saw them end a 10-year wait to win the NBA Championship [Getty Images]

Between 2000 and 2010, the Lakers were one of the most dominant sides in the NBA. They won a three-peat between 2000 and 2002, finished runners up in 2004 and 2008 and then went back-to-back with titles in 2009 and 2010.

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But by the time James had signed for them in 2018 following the end of his second spell with the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Lakers had gone five straight years without reaching the play-offs.

The latter two of those were the first Lakers seasons since 1995-96 without legend Kobe Bryant, who had spent two decades and his entire NBA career in Los Angeles prior to his 2016 retirement.

There was a need for a talisman and a change of fortunes for the Lakers and in time, with James at the helm, they got exactly that.

Year one saw an improvement for the Lakers after a poor start to the season, but a groin injury sustained by James kept him sidelined for 17 matches. That run would…

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Publish date : 2026-07-01 12:48:00

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