The Miami Heat have had quite the eventful offseason. After landing their whale in Giannis Antetokounmpo in June, they're following it up now by trying to get LeBron James to return to South Florida. After it became clear recently that Antetokounmpo, whose made it known for years how much he admires James, is very much looking to play with the four-time Finals MVP, it seems like the feeling may be mutual."I was surprised last year before the the Bucks waived-and-stretched Damian Lillard to bring on Myles Turner. I was surprised that Milwaukee didn't even think about calling LA and trying to trade Damian Lillard for LeBron, because I do believe that opportunity to play with Giannis is something that he has been considering and has looked at for a bit here," Bleacher Report's Jake Fischer said. "Not to say that LeBron was wanting to go to Milwaukee, but I think, in that scenario, to go to an Eastern Conference that was loaded, that was looked at as less loaded than the West, I think that would have at least scratched his itch and something that he would have been interested in."LeBron James has been interested in playing with Giannis Antetokounmpo for some time, per @JakeLFischer“A reunion with Cleveland, A reunion with Miami especially after the Heat figured out a way to finally get Giannis to south beach, those two teams have always seemed like the… https://t.co/EFKTqVFsHc pic.twitter.com/jH0XEWCJEy— Heat Central (@TheHeatCentral) July 8, 2026On Monday, when the Heat's acquisition of Antetokounmpo became official, the 2021 Finals MVP was caught off-guard on a livestream when the chat tried to get him to believe that James had returned to Cleveland. Antetokounmmpo was seemingly taken aback. Then, ESPN's Shams Charania confirmed that Antetokounmpo wants James to join him in Miami to finish his career."A reunion with Cleveland, a reunion with Miami, especially after the Miami Heat figured out a way to finally get Giannis Antetokounmpo to South Beach, those two teams have always kind of seemed like the real leaders in this clubhouse because of the storybook opportunity that would be available to LeBron," Fischer continued. "And this is, again, someone who has always been very aware, very cognizant of the story of his career."James surprised NBA fans around the world when word came out that the four-time MVP would be leaving the Los Angeles Lakers after eight seasons and becoming an unrestricted free agent. The Cavaliers and Heat have been among the reported potential destinations, along with the Golden State Warriors, Philadlephia 76ers, Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets."There's all this talk about there being a documentary crew that's been following him for years, and what they could really do in this kind of final season, Last Dance kind of environment that is either going to come this year or next year very, very soon. He's definitely in the twilight of his career at this point. So going back to Cleveland, where it all began, where he's from, of course, where he helped the Cavaliers win their first championship in 2016, all that has seemed like the most storybook way and something that he would be very appealed by," Fischer said. "Miami, of course, won two championships. The history with that organization is there." In 2025-2026, in his age-41 season, James averaged 20.9 points, 7.2 assists and 6.1 rebounds, converting on 51.5 percent of his field goals. In the Lakers' first round Playoff series win over the Houston Rockets, James averaged 23.2 points, 8.3 assists and 7.2 rebounds, mostly without his co-stars Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.For more Miami Heat information and conversation, check out Off The Floor.Alexander Toledo is a contributor to Miami Heat On SI and producer/co-host of the Five on the Floor podcast, covering the Heat and NBA. He can be reached at @tropicalblanket on Twitter.Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow