LeBron James has agreed to return to the Los Angeles Lakers on a two-year, $104 million contract that features a participant choice for 2025-26 and a no-trade clause, sources informed ESPN on Wednesday.
The deal brings James again for his twenty second NBA season and primarily turns into a one-plus-one deal that permits him to reassess his Lakers and NBA future subsequent summer season.
James joins Phoenix Suns guard Bradley Beal as one in every of solely two gamers within the NBA with no-trade clauses.
The utmost deal of $104 million would put the Lakers about $1 million over the league’s new punitive wage second apron and would severely restrict the crew’s roster flexibility. James’ agent Wealthy Paul, the CEO of Klutch Sports activities, is planning to debate with Lakers common supervisor Rob Pelinka the potential of taking $1 million or so under the utmost to maintain Los Angeles below the $188.9 million second apron, sources stated.
The Lakers are working to signal Bronny James Jr. — the fifty fifth choice on this 12 months’s draft — to his rookie contract. He’ll be part of his father on the Lakers roster, the place they may very well be the primary father-son duo to play within the NBA on the identical time in league historical past.
James, who will flip 40 on Dec. 30, is taken into account one of many biggest gamers in NBA historical past. The one participant to eclipse 40,000 profession factors, he’s fourth all time in assists, eighth in steals, eighth in 3-pointers made and third in free throws made.
Final season, James grew to become the primary participant to make 20 All-Star groups, passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar — whom he had already handed for the all-time scoring mark — for probably the most in NBA historical past. James’ 20 All-NBA choices and 13 first-team All-NBA choices are additionally probably the most within the historical past of the game.
He is also the NBA’s all-time chief in postseason factors scored and is within the prime 10 in rebounds (fourth), assists (second), steals (first), blocks (tenth), 3-pointers made (third) and free throws made (first).
The four-time champion and MVP, who led the Lakers to their seventeenth title in 2020 within the NBA’s bubble, averaged 25.7 factors, 8.3 assists and seven.3 rebounds per sport final season in his age-39 marketing campaign. James, Nikola Jokic and Luka Doncic have been the one three gamers to common at the very least 25, 8 and seven within the NBA final season.
The Lakers, although, have been unable to get previous the primary spherical for the fourth time in his six seasons in Los Angeles. Earlier than becoming a member of the Lakers, James reached the NBA Finals eight consecutive years with the Miami Warmth and Cleveland Cavaliers and received at the very least a single playoff sequence in 13 consecutive seasons.
ESPN’s Dave McMenamin contributed to this report.