LeBron James will be back with the Lakers for another season, and possibly two.
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The Los Angeles Lakers and star forward LeBron James have recommitted yet again.
James and the Lakers have agreed to a reported two-year, $101.35 million deal that includes a no-trade clause. The deal, which approached the maximum James could get from the Lakers, will keep James on the Lakers until he is 41 if he plays out the full length of the contract.
ESPN reported that the Lakers and James agreed on a salary slightly less than the max — a move that could keep the team from reaching the second apron and preserve some roster flexibility going forward. Per Bobby Marks, they’ll remain $45,000 under the second apron, avoiding key penalties.
The expectation is that James will make around $50 million — give or take a little bit — in 2024-25, pushing his career on-court earnings to around $530 million and making him the first player in NBA history to eclipse the $500 million mark.
Officially official: King's back. pic.twitter.com/PIH9oRt4LJ
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) July 7, 2024
His decision to stay with the Lakers was not a surprise as multiple outlets reported James was expected to seek a new deal with the team after opting out of his contract for the 2024-25 season.
The Lakers selected Bronny James — LeBron James’ oldest son — in the second round of the 2024 NBA Draft, putting them in position to have the first on-court father-son pairing in NBA history.
Closer look at LeBron: James was more than outstanding in a season in which he turned 39, playing in 71 games — his most since the 2017-18 season — and became the NBA’s first player with 40,000 career points in early March. For as good as James was, though, the Lakers struggled to be consistent and finished 47-35, losing to the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the playoffs.
Injuries and a mediocre defense paved the way for a difficult middle of 2023-24 as the Lakers went 3-10 during the holiday period immediately after the In-Season Tournament. However, the Lakers rallied and went 23-10 to close out the season and beat the New Orleans Pelicans in the SoFi Play-In Tournament to earn the No. 7 seed in the West.
He’ll turn 40 in December and will tie Vince Carter this season in terms of most seasons played in NBA history; the 2024-25 campaign will be James’ 22nd in the league. He averaged 25.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 8.3 assists last season — as the oldest active player in the league.
There hasn’t been an “oldest player” in the NBA to average even 10 points since John Stockton scored 10.8 per game in 2002-03. James, however, finished with the highest scoring average of any oldest player ever, surpassing Hall of Famer and Lakers legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. He was the league’s oldest player when he averaged 23.4 points in 1985-86.
James led the Lakers to the NBA title in the 2019-20 season after the season restarted due to the Covid-19 pandemic. He has won four NBA titles (two with the Miami Heat, one with the Cleveland Cavaliers and one with the Lakers) and 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 player, 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 what became an All-NBA campaign.
Abdul-Jabbar and Tim Duncan were both just a few days from turning 39 when the regular seasons ended in what became their final All-NBA campaigns, Abdul-Jabbar’s being 1985-86 and Duncan’s being 2014-15.
Aside from having 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.
Lakers’ offseason: 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. And though Redick is an unorthodox choice, his unlikely ascent is not without some precedent in Lakers lore and recent NBA history.
Pat Riley was a broadcaster for the Lakers in November 1979 when Paul Westhead took over as their coach after Jack McKinney suffered serious injuries in a bicycle accident. Westhead hired Riley as an assistant without coaching experience, and Riley became the Lakers’ coach in late 1981 after Westhead clashed with Magic Johnson.
Riley promptly led the Lakers to four championships in the 1980s to begin his incredible career as a coach and executive.
The Lakers were in the Play-In Tournament both seasons under Ham and, while he ultimately led them to the postseason both times, the West Finals run in 2022-23 raised the stakes considerably for L.A. this season.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
