Will The King come back home?

ESPN polled 20 NBA coaches, scouts and executives about where they think LeBron James will be playing in 2026-27. 

If James doesn't retire after the 2025-26 season, could the NBA legend return to the Cleveland Cavaliers? Some insiders think so.

Here are the results of ESPN's poll about James' future:

Los Angeles Lakers: 7

Retired: 5

Cleveland Cavaliers: 4

Golden State Warriors: 2

Dallas Mavericks: 1

Miami Heat: 1

James, 40, is the oldest active player in the NBA. He has one year left on his contract with the Lakers.

A future Hall of Famer, James, of course, has played for the Cavaliers twice. He's the best player in franchise history and will get his No. 23 jersey retired by the organization one day. 

An Akron native, James led the Cavaliers to their only NBA championship in 2016 against the Warriors. The 2015-16 Cleveland team is the only squad in NBA history to erase a 3-1 series deficit in the NBA Finals. 

James enters the 2025-26 season with career averages of 27.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 7.4 assists, 1.5 steals and 0.7 blocks with the Cavaliers, Heat and Lakers. He’s a four-time MVP, a four-time champion, a four-time Finals MVP, a one-time scoring champion and a one-time assists champion. 

James is the sole player in NBA history to rank top five all-time in points and assists, the sole player to win three Finals MVPs with three teams, the sole player with 40,000 points, 10,000 rebounds and 10,000 career assists and the sole player to score 50,000 combined points in the regular season and playoffs. 

A 21-time All-Star, James is the leading scorer in NBA history in the regular season and playoffs. He becomes an unrestricted free agent next offseason for the first time since 2018. 

If James doesn't retire after next season, NBA insiders believe he will either re-sign with the Lakers or come back home to the Cavaliers again.