If this season does not end with the Cleveland Cavaliers hoisting the Larry O'Brien Trophy, there are plenty who feel the team is just one LeBron James reunion away from putting the cherry on top of a championship climax. Luckily for those people, the current franchise star is in favor of the idea.
"As a Bron fan, man, to be able to be a teammate, obviously that would be special," Donovan Mitchell told SiriusXM NBA Radio. "But that's not something that is [in] my control. I control what we got here. There's always going to be reports, it's natural."
Mitchell said his main focus was winning a title. The Cavaliers star was a big believer in controlling what he could. While that was the main message, it was hard to ignore what could easily be perceived as an open sign for James to return to the building he called home for a large chunk of his career.
Mitchell added, "I mean, it's LeBron James, right?"
Mitchell sure sounds warmed up to the idea of playing with LeBron
James returning to Cleveland to finish his NBA career has been a large point of speculation for quite some time. Mitchell has undoubtedly been afforded plenty of opportunity to wrestle with his feelings on the matter. Distaste does not appear to be one of them.
Why would it be?
LeBron has already proven that being paired up with a star scoring guard in Cleveland is a recipe that leads to an NBA championship. Granted, this is not the version of James who is the undisputed best player in the world. This is a man who will be 42 years old for the majority of the 2026-27 season.
Even so, James has continued to deliver a high level of basketball during his 23rd season in the league. The Cavs' franchise legend just represented the Los Angeles Lakers at the All-Star Game. It was the 22nd time in his long career that LeBron was chosen to participate in the festivities.
Some may argue this selection had more to do with legacy than on-court production. However, the latter still looks pretty good.
James has averaged 22.0 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 7.1 assists per game in 2025-26, shooting 50.2 percent from the field. The defensive limitations at this age are clear, but they would also be far less noticeable on a team that is not the Lakers.
With James set to hit unrestricted free agency in the summer, joining forces with Mitchell and a strong supporting cast in Cleveland gives LeBron a great opportunity to ride out with one last championship in his career. That is the storybook ending that Hollywood may not be able to give him.