LeBron James continues to weigh his options as he searches for a new home to end his illustrious NBA career.The Warriors still are believed to be one of those options, even if the odds are slim. But Charles Barkley doesn’t believe James should take his talents to Golden State, and the outspoken TV analyst really sees only one reasonable avenue for the four-time NBA MVP.
“His only move in my opinion is to go back to Cleveland,” Barkley told NBC Sports Bay Area’s Monte Poole at the 2026 American Century Championship in South Lake Tahoe. “If he goes to Golden State or somewhere else, it’d be like he’s chasing Michael Jordan and trying to win more championships.
“He don’t have any affiliation with those other teams. His only affiliation is where he was born in Cleveland, Ohio. So I think he should go back to Cleveland.”
James was born in Akron, Ohio, about 40 miles south of Cleveland.
He spent the first seven years of his NBA career with the Cavaliers before joining the Miami Heat in 2010. He returned home to Cleveland in 2014, where he spent the next four seasons and finally...