NBA commissioner Adam Silver recently acknowledged that LeBron James’ free agency is delaying the league’s scheduling process, but ESPN’s Brian Windhorst doesn’t believe that will influence the superstar’s timeline.
Speaking at the CNBC Sport x Boardroom Game Plan Summit during Fanatics Fest NYC, Silver explained that the NBA cannot finalize the 2026-27 regular-season schedule until James decides where he will play.
“I guess all politics are local. The way I think about it is, we have to finish up the schedule. Where LeBron plays will affect the schedule,” he said.
“So I would like him to make his announcement already, so we can finish the schedule, because, as you might imagine, the teams are calling us, the networks are calling us, and everybody wants to lock in the schedule.
“But it will influence how we set the schedule, how we set opening week, Christmas Day, etc. So I need him to make a decision.”
Despite Silver’s public request, Windhorst expects James to move at his own pace.
“This is one thing I can say with confidence: LeBron does not care about holding the league up with his schedule,” the longtime NBA insider said on ESPN’s NBA Today.
“He will make them wait until he is good and ready to make a decision.”
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— BasketNews (@BasketNews_com) July 20, 2026
