LeBron James is 41 years old, will be 42 by the end of the 2026-27 NBA season, and yet his free agency still has NBA fans everywhere on the edge of their seats. Rumors have swirled, podcasts have had whole episodes dedicated to trying to figure out where The King will opt to play next season.
On Tuesday night, if even for a moment, fans believed he’d made a decision. Fans discovered that the Miami Heat had scheduled a video to be published on YouTube titled “LeBron James Introductory Press Conference.” Everyone around social media was flabbergasted at how sudden James’ decision seemingly was. Turns out, it was an accident.
According to a spokesperson from the Heat, the video was accidentally posted while the social media team was preparing for a possible James signing.
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Of course, the Heat are still in the running for James, but they haven’t signed him just yet. Clearly though, people in the building must feel at least somewhat confident that a deal could be reached soon, right? Why prep anything if you didn’t feel it was possible?
But are the Heat even the favorites to land James? After James spent four years in South Beach, winning two championships along the way, would he really opt to return after the team just traded for Giannis Antetokounmpo?
Here are the latest odds on which teams have the best shot at signing LeBron James. All odds via BetMGM.
Which teams have the best odds of signing LeBron James?
According to BetMGM, the Golden State Warriors have the best odds of signing James, currently sitting at -250, with the Cleveland Cavaliers in second-place at +300.
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The Miami Heat are third at +800, and the Spurs round out the top-four at +1600.
Have other teams been linked to James?
Other teams like the Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves and Philadelphia 76ers have all been linked to James this offseason.
However, as time has progressed, those teams have seemingly fallen away from their pursuit of James. There is still obviously a chance that one of these teams winds up with James as well, but they all seem like longshots at this point.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY Sports: Are the Heat odds-on favorites for LeBron James after YouTube debacle?
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