LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers have agreed to a two-year, $104 million contract extension, which includes a player option for the 2025-26 season and a no-trade clause. This agreement, reported by sources from ESPN, The Athletic, and CBS Sports, was finalized just days after the Lakers selected Bronny James, LeBron’s eldest son, in the second round of the 2024 NBA Draft.
LeBron James, who averaged 25.7 points, 8.3 assists, and 7.3 rebounds over 71 starts during the 2023-24 season, is entering his 22nd season in the NBA. Last season, he played on a $44.4 million salary and declined a $51.4 million player option this off-season. At 39, James became the league’s all-time points leader in 2023, with a career average of 27.1 points per game, ranking seventh in league history. He also ranks fourth all-time in assists, eighth in steals, and 31st in rebounds.
The Lakers finished the 2023-24 season with a 47-35 record, their highest win total since the 2019-20 season when they won the NBA Finals. Key players like Anthony Davis, D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves, and Rui Hachimura are expected to join James in the starting lineup for the 2024-25 season.
NBA teams can start signing free agents on Saturday, coinciding with the first day of the California Classic Summer League. The Lakers will face the Sacramento Kings at Chase Center in San Francisco.
LeBron James’ new deal, which is the maximum he could get from the Lakers, will keep him with the team until he is 41 if he plays out the full length of the contract. ESPN reported that the Lakers and James’ agent, Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul, might agree on a salary slightly less than the maximum to avoid reaching the second apron and maintain some roster flexibility. Regardless, James is expected to make around $50 million in 2024-25, pushing his career on-court earnings to approximately $530 million, making him the first player in NBA history to surpass the $500 million mark.
James’ decision to stay with the Lakers was anticipated, as multiple outlets reported he was expected to seek a new deal with the team after opting out of his contract for the 2024-25 season. The Lakers’ selection of Bronny James in the 2024 NBA Draft sets the stage for the first on-court father-son pairing in NBA history.
LeBron James had an outstanding season at 39, playing in 71 games and becoming the NBA’s first player with 40,000 career points in early March. Despite his performance, the Lakers struggled with consistency, finishing 47-35 and losing to the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the playoffs. Injuries and a mediocre defense contributed to a difficult middle of the season, but the Lakers rallied to close out the season strong and secured the No. 7 seed in the West.
James will turn 40 in December and will tie Vince Carter for the most seasons played in NBA history. He averaged 25.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 8.3 assists last season, making him the oldest active player in the league to achieve such stats. No other “oldest player” in the NBA has averaged even 10 points since John Stockton in 2002-03. James surpassed Hall of Famer and Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who averaged 23.4 points in 1985-86, as the oldest player with the highest scoring average.
James led the Lakers to the NBA title in the 2019-20 season and has won four NBA titles in total, with two with the Miami Heat, one with the Cleveland Cavaliers, and one with the Lakers. He has been Finals MVP in each of the Finals series he’s won. Last season, he made history by becoming the first player with 20 All-Star selections, surpassing Abdul-Jabbar. He has made 20 All-NBA teams, won 4 Kia MVPs, 3 All-Star Game MVPs, made six All-Defensive teams, and was a member of the NBA 75th Anniversary Team. He holds the records for being both the youngest and oldest player to make an All-NBA squad.
James became the youngest to make All-NBA when he was voted onto the team for the 2004-05 season. This past season, he became the first player to be age 39 or older in an All-NBA campaign. Abdul-Jabbar and Tim Duncan were both just a few days from turning 39 when the regular seasons ended in their final All-NBA campaigns.
Aside from holding the NBA’s all-time scoring mark, James is also No. 1 in field goal attempts, No. 2 in both minutes played and field goals made, No. 4 in assists, No. 6 in games played, and No. 8 in both 3-pointers made and steals.
The Lakers changed coaches in the offseason, parting ways with Darvin Ham and replacing him with JJ Redick, a former NBA player and ESPN analyst who has never coached at any level. Redick’s appointment is unorthodox but not without precedent in Lakers lore and recent NBA history. Pat Riley, a broadcaster for the Lakers in 1979, became the Lakers’ coach in late 1981 and led the team to four championships in the 1980s.
The Lakers were in the Play-In Tournament both seasons under Ham, and while he led them to the postseason both times, the West Finals run in 2022-23 raised the stakes considerably for L.A. this season.
Source: UPI, ESPN, The Athletic, CBS Sports
