It’s official: LeBron James will remain with the Los Angeles Lakers for the foreseeable future.
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, James intends to sign a two-year max contract worth $104 million with the Lakers, less than a day after they signed his son, rookie Bronny James, to a guaranteed two-year contract.
James backed out of his previous deal on Saturday, with his agent Rich Paul telling ESPN that James was willing to discuss a deal below the maximum he was eligible for to allow general manager Rob Pelinka to sign an “impact player.”
The 39-year-old is the oldest active player in the NBA, but he shows no signs of slowing down: James averaged 25.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 8.3 assists in 35 minutes per game in the 2023-2024 season.
James joined the Lakers in 2018, signing a four-year, $154 million contract to head west. He signed a two-year, $97.1 million extension with Los Angeles in 2022 that included a player option he declined for next season.
During the 2024 All-Star Weekend in February, James said he wanted to retire as a Laker.
“I’m a Laker and I’ve been very happy being a Laker for the last six years, and I hope it stays that way,” James said, just before his record-breaking 20th All-Star appearance.
Another consideration was James’ son Bronny, who was drafted by the Lakers with the 55th overall pick on Thursday. James has said repeatedly that he hopes to play his final NBA season with Bronny, and now that Junior has signed with the Lakers, that dream is about to become a reality. LeBron and Bronny will officially be the fourth father-son duo to play together in professional sports history.
James helped lead the Lakers to a championship in the NBA bubble in 2020, winning their fourth championship overall. In the years since, the Lakers have struggled. They were eliminated in the first round of the 2021 and 2024 playoffs and missed the postseason entirely in 2022. James and the Lakers reached the 2023 Western Conference Finals, but were defeated by the eventual NBA champion Denver Nuggets.
Upon returning to the Lakers, James will fight for another championship run under the leadership of new head coach JJ Redick, who signed a four-year contract with the Lakers on June 20 and replaces Darvin Ham.
