{"id":2020154,"date":"2026-06-30T22:29:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T19:29:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2020154"},"modified":"2026-06-30T22:29:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T19:29:10","slug":"lebron-james-next-team-odds-warriors-cavs-surge-as-new-betting-favorites-to-land-superstar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2020154","title":{"rendered":"LeBron James next team odds: Warriors, Cavs surge as new betting favorites to land superstar"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"Article_ContentContainer__jBNW3 article-content-container bodytext1\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\">The NBA\u2019s biggest superstar is officially on the move, and the betting markets are reacting accordingly.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">After LeBron James and his agent announced he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7302889\/2026\/06\/30\/lebron-james-returns-leaving-lakers-nba\/\">will not return to the Los Angeles Lakers<\/a>, the free agent has reportedly opened his candidacy to the entire league \u2013 but the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers remain the most likely options.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad-container\">\n<div class=\"ad-wrapper article-treatment\">\n<div class=\"ad-slug-container\">\n<p class=\"ad-slug\">Advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"mid1\" data-position=\"mid1\" class=\"ad place-ad\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">At multiple sportsbooks and prediction markets, the Warriors are now the favorites to land the superstar.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">At Kalshi, Golden State currently is the favorite at 46 percent, which translates to +105 odds. Cleveland is the second favorite at 28 percent, which is +239 odds. The Miami Heat sit in third, at 12 percent.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">At traditional sportsbooks, Golden State is an even bigger favorite to land James. DraftKings lists the Warriors at -275 in legal jurisdictions, while BetMGM has -250 odds in Canada.<\/p>\n<div>Just one week ago at Kalshi, on June 23, LeBron staying with the Lakers or retiring was the favorite at 72 percent (odds of-257). Cleveland was next at 19 percent, and the Warriors were third, at 13 percent.<\/div>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Oddsmakers have evolved over the years with NBA Free Agency after essentially learning the hard way. In 2010, the final days before LeBron\u2019s infamous \u201cDecision\u201d, sharp bettors caught sportsbooks off guard with wagers on the Miami Heat at 50-to-1 odds. Overnight, the Heat moved to around even money. That no longer happens.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\n<div data-ath-video-stream=\"p07Kw1wwtHL7lOk\">\n<div class=\"VideoHost_Root__QeM_i\">\n<div class=\"VideoHost_VideoWidth__XjNKI VideoHost_Portrait__XBaJC\">\n<div class=\"VideoTitleFrame_Root__AGckL\">\n<div>\n<div class=\"VideoTitleFrame_Title__npf3B\">What are NBA lottery picks&#8217; favorite LeBron memories?<\/div>\n<div class=\"VideoTitleFrame_Authors__jxyYV\">Eric Nehm<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"VideoTitleFrame_VideoWrapper__Xgp47\">{&#8220;@context&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/schema.org&#8221;,&#8221;@type&#8221;:&#8221;VideoObject&#8221;,&#8221;@id&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/video\/p07Kw1wwtHL7lOk\/&#8221;,&#8221;url&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/video\/p07Kw1wwtHL7lOk\/&#8221;,&#8221;name&#8221;:&#8221;What are NBA lottery picks&#8217; favorite LeBron memories?&#8221;,&#8221;description&#8221;:&#8221;Eric Nehm asks the top NBA Draft prospects what their favorite LeBron memories were growing up. &#8220;,&#8221;uploadDate&#8221;:&#8221;2026-05-19T14:41:21.167Z&#8221;,&#8221;duration&#8221;:&#8221;PT55S&#8221;,&#8221;thumbnailUrl&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/cdn-media.theathletic.com\/video-stream\/auto-thumbnail\/p07Kw1wwtHL7lOk\/M9qt1inPao9u.0000000.jpg&#8221;,&#8221;contentUrl&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/video.nyt.com\/athletic\/streams\/p07Kw1wwtHL7lOk\/M9qt1inPao9u\/M9qt1inPao9u.m3u8&#8243;,&#8221;transcript&#8221;:&#8221;LeBron&#8217;s been the face of the league since you were born. Do you have a favorite memory moment of LeBron&#8217;s career on the court? Um, sorry, Iggy I see yesterday, but probably blocked Matt James. James, LeBron James with the rejection. When him and the Warriors are going at it for those years in a row, that was a lot of fun to watch. A LeBron memory. Uh, I mean, you can always say that he had the Iggy block, that was crazy. Those years when he was playing Toronto, man, he was getting to it. But I remember, I think maybe, maybe my favorite memory is definitely, uh, when he&#8217;s going left, I think the game winner, he like went and he&#8217;s floated for almost the three point line. That was crazy, but I mean, just how long he&#8217;s been in the league, I think that&#8217;s why he&#8217;s, I mean, I&#8217;m not gonna say nothing too crazy, but I think that&#8217;s why he&#8217;s such a great player. I mean, being, being in the NBA that long, I mean, it&#8217;s hard. I mean, just to take care of your body and just constantly produce every single year, I mean, people take it for granted, but it&#8217;s not easy at all.&#8221;,&#8221;ineligibleRegion&#8221;:[&#8220;BI&#8221;,&#8221;BY&#8221;,&#8221;CD&#8221;,&#8221;CF&#8221;,&#8221;CU&#8221;,&#8221;IQ&#8221;,&#8221;IR&#8221;,&#8221;KP&#8221;,&#8221;LB&#8221;,&#8221;LY&#8221;,&#8221;ML&#8221;,&#8221;NI&#8221;,&#8221;RU&#8221;,&#8221;SD&#8221;,&#8221;SO&#8221;,&#8221;SS&#8221;,&#8221;SY&#8221;,&#8221;UA&#8221;,&#8221;VE&#8221;,&#8221;YE&#8221;,&#8221;ZW&#8221;],&#8221;publisher&#8221;:{&#8220;@type&#8221;:&#8221;NewsMediaOrganization&#8221;,&#8221;@id&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/#publisher&#8221;,&#8221;name&#8221;:&#8221;The Athletic&#8221;,&#8221;url&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/&#8221;,&#8221;foundingDate&#8221;:&#8221;2016-01-25&#8243;,&#8221;logo&#8221;:{&#8220;@type&#8221;:&#8221;ImageObject&#8221;,&#8221;@id&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/theathletic.com\/app\/themes\/athletic\/assets\/img\/the-athletic-wordmark-black.png&#8221;,&#8221;url&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/theathletic.com\/app\/themes\/athletic\/assets\/img\/the-athletic-wordmark-black.png&#8221;,&#8221;contentUrl&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/theathletic.com\/app\/themes\/athletic\/assets\/img\/the-athletic-wordmark-black.png&#8221;,&#8221;creditText&#8221;:&#8221;The Athletic&#8221;,&#8221;height&#8221;:&#8221;60&#8243;,&#8221;width&#8221;:&#8221;435&#8243;},&#8221;publishingPrinciples&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/edit-guidelines\/&#8221;,&#8221;sameAs&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Athletic&#8221;},&#8221;author&#8221;:[{&#8220;@type&#8221;:&#8221;Person&#8221;,&#8221;name&#8221;:&#8221;Eric Nehm&#8221;}]}<\/p>\n<div class=\"AspectRatioBox_root__AKv5b\" style=\"aspect-ratio:9 \/ 16;max-height:min(100%)\">\n<div class=\"AspectRatioBox_inner__86C_2\" style=\"aspect-ratio:9 \/ 16\">\n<div class=\"VideoStreamPlayer_GridStack__2H0p2\"><video preload=\"none\"><\/video><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cHonestly, they used to beat us to the punch a little, but now it\u2019s a level playing field. Everyone has the same Twitter accounts,\u201d longtime Las Vegas oddsmaker and Boomer\u2019s head of trading Nick Bogdanovich told <em>The Athletic<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Oddsmakers have already adjusted next year\u2019s championship odds for the Warriors (25-1) and Cavaliers (30-1), which means landing LeBron would only slightly lower them. If he does not choose them, the odds will increase. The main reason for that is the current stage of his career.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cIf he goes to the Warriors, he makes them a better team. I don\u2019t think they can win it all like the Lakers did because they have all those teams ahead of them,\u201d DraftKings sportsbook director Johnny Avello explained. \u201cWhen you have LeBron, he wants to get his stats too. Sometimes that\u2019s a problem.\u201d<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\n<div id=\"inline-graphic\">\n<p>        a.showcase-link-container {<br \/>\n  display: flex;<br \/>\n  gap: 20px;<br \/>\n  flex-direction: column;<br \/>\n  align-items: center;<br \/>\n  padding: 20px 0px;<br \/>\n  border-top: 1px solid rgba(150, 150, 147, 0.4);<br \/>\n  border-bottom: 1px solid rgba(150, 150, 147, 0.4);<br \/>\n  text-decoration: none;<br \/>\n  color: #121212;<br \/>\n  cursor: pointer;<\/p>\n<p>  .showcase-link {<br \/>\n    font-family: nyt-franklin;<br \/>\n    font-size: 14px;<br \/>\n    font-style: normal;<br \/>\n    font-weight: 700;<br \/>\n    line-height: 13.8px;<br \/>\n    letter-spacing: 1.1px;<br \/>\n    text-transform: uppercase;<br \/>\n  }<\/p>\n<p>  .showcase-link-image {<br \/>\n    border-radius: 8px;<br \/>\n    object-fit: cover;<br \/>\n    width: 200px;<br \/>\n    height: 150px;<br \/>\n    margin: 0px;<br \/>\n    @media (max-width: 600px) {<br \/>\n      width: 120px;<br \/>\n      height: 120px;<br \/>\n    }<br \/>\n  }<\/p>\n<p>  .showcase-link-inner-content {<br \/>\n    display: flex;<br \/>\n    flex-direction: row;<br \/>\n    gap: 16px;<br \/>\n    width: 100%;<br \/>\n  }<\/p>\n<p>  .showcase-link-text-content {<br \/>\n    display: flex;<br \/>\n    flex-direction: column;<br \/>\n    gap: 20px;<br \/>\n    justify-content: center;<br \/>\n    @media (max-width: 600px) {<br \/>\n      gap: 8px;<br \/>\n    }<br \/>\n  }<\/p>\n<p>  .showcase-link-title {<br \/>\n    font-family: nyt-cheltenham;<br \/>\n    font-size: 24px;<br \/>\n    font-style: normal;<br \/>\n    font-weight: 500;<br \/>\n    line-height: 120%; \/* 24px *\/<br \/>\n    letter-spacing: 0.01px;<br \/>\n    text-overflow: ellipsis;<br \/>\n    overflow: hidden;<br \/>\n    display: -webkit-box;<br \/>\n    -webkit-box-orient: vertical;<br \/>\n    -webkit-line-clamp: 3;<br \/>\n    @media (max-width: 600px) {<br \/>\n      font-size: 16px;<br \/>\n    }<br \/>\n  }<\/p>\n<p>  .showcase-link-excerpt {<br \/>\n    font-family: nyt-imperial;<br \/>\n    font-size: 16px;<br \/>\n    font-style: normal;<br \/>\n    font-weight: 400;<br \/>\n    line-height: 139%; \/* 19.46px *\/<br \/>\n    color: #323232;<br \/>\n    text-overflow: ellipsis;<br \/>\n    overflow: hidden;<br \/>\n    display: -webkit-box;<br \/>\n    -webkit-box-orient: vertical;<br \/>\n    -webkit-line-clamp: 4;<br \/>\n    @media (max-width: 600px) {<br \/>\n      font-size: 12px;<br \/>\n      line-height: 121%;<br \/>\n    }<br \/>\n  }<br \/>\n}<\/p>\n<p>.showcase-link-inputs {<br \/>\n  .showcase-link-input {<br \/>\n    width: 100%;<br \/>\n    font-size: 1rem;<br \/>\n    background-color: white;<br \/>\n    margin-bottom: 12px;<br \/>\n  }<\/p>\n<p>  .showcase-link-indent {<br \/>\n    margin-left: 25px;<br \/>\n  }<\/p>\n<p>  option {<br \/>\n    width: 100%;<br \/>\n  }<br \/>\n}<\/p>\n<p>@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {<br \/>\n  .native-mobile a.showcase-link-container {<br \/>\n    background-color: #121212;<br \/>\n    color: #f0f0ee;<br \/>\n    .showcase-link-excerpt {<br \/>\n      color: #c4c4c0;<br \/>\n    }<br \/>\n  }<br \/>\n}<\/p>\n<p>            \/\/ Remove all onclicks on imgs for apps to prevent image zoom on click<br \/>\n            document.querySelectorAll(&#8216;.showcase-link-image&#8217;).forEach((img) =&gt; img.removeAttribute(&#8216;onclick&#8217;));<\/p>\n<p>        <a id=\"showcase-link-7409437\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/7409437\/2026\/06\/30\/lebron-james-legacy-lakers-nba-los-angeles\/\" class=\"showcase-link-container in-content-module-link testbed-shortcode\" data-shortcode-id=\"101\" data-shortcode-string=\"showcase-link\" data-content-id=\"7409437\" data-content-post-type=\"article\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"showcase-link\">What You Should Read Next<\/div>\n<div class=\"showcase-link-inner-content\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/athletic\/uploads\/wp\/2026\/06\/03130806\/GettyImages-1279728867-1024x681.jpg?width=400&amp;quality=70\" alt=\"LeBron James\u2019 Lakers legacy is complicated and ultimately a little unsatisfying\" class=\"showcase-link-image\" width=\"200\" height=\"200\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"showcase-link-text-content\">\n<div class=\"showcase-link-title\">\n                  LeBron James\u2019 Lakers legacy is complicated and ultimately a little unsatisfying\n              <\/div>\n<div class=\"showcase-link-excerpt\">\n                  What did James make people in Los Angeles feel? The answer is probably not enough for either James or Lakers fans.\n              <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>        <\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">Another team could surface and surprise many insiders, just like the Heat did in 2010. The San Antonio Spurs make a lot of basketball sense, but no reports suggest it is imminent\u2026 yet.<\/p>\n<p dir=\"ltr\">\u201cIf he went to the Spurs, they would become the favorite,\u201d Avello said. San Antonio has +260 title odds at DraftKings and is only slightly behind the Oklahoma City Thunder, who are the championship favorite with +250 odds.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The NBA\u2019s biggest superstar is officially on the move, and the betting markets are reacting accordingly. After LeBron James and his agent announced he will not return to the Los Angeles Lakers, the free agent has reportedly opened his candidacy to the entire league \u2013 but the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers remain the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,241],"class_list":["post-2020154","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-nytimes-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2020154","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2020154"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2020154\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2020154"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2020154"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2020154"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}