LeBron James Projected To Land With Surprising Western Conference Contender

LeBron James has a huge decision to make this offseason. As a free agent, does he stay in LA with the Lakers, go home to Cleveland for one final hurrah with the Cavaliers, go into retirement, or... Shock us with a completely unexpected move?

Andy Bailey at Bleacher Report picks the latter, and he projects LeBron to choose to team up with Nikola Jokic with the Denver Nuggets to go after another NBA title.

If he really is willing to play for the minimum (which is probably what the Cleveland Cavaliers would have to pay him), a season alongside Nikola Jokić would be tempting.
LeBron was still a top 40-ish player in 2025-26. And if he's anywhere near that level again, his playmaking would take a ton of pressure off Jokič and Jamal Murray. His experience could help everyone on the roster.
And for a team that was overly reliant on Bruce Brown and Spencer Jones, even a physically diminished LeBron could help with their lack of explosiveness.

The Nuggets fell far short of expectations this season, following up their 3-seed finish in the Western Conference by getting knocked out in the first round of the playoffs. That's their earliest exit since winning the championship in 2023.

LeBron James projected to join Nikola Jokic next season

Jokic is still one of the top two players in the world, and Murray is still an elite No. 2, to say the least. Murray was an All-Star this season, averaging career-highs across the board: 25.4 points per game, 7.1 assists, 4.4 rebounds, and 43.5% shooting from three. He finished second in the voting for Clutch Player of the Year.

And The Joker was... well, The Joker, averaging a triple-double once again in one of his most sublime performances yet. 27.7 ppg, a league-leading 12.9 rebounds and a league-leading 10.7 assists. He nabbed his third 2nd-place MVP finish, to go along three MVP titles.

Adding LeBron as a third fiddle would not only take the pressure off Jokic & Murray, but it would also take it off LeBron to have to carry such a load at the age of 42 next season.

With LeBron's four Most Valuable Player awards, it would also put 7 MVP trophies on the same team.

It makes a ton of sense, both for James, and for the Nuggets to make a big splash to try to dethrone the seemingly unbeatable (except by each other) San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder.