After opting out of the final year of his contract last week, LeBron James has agreed to a new deal with the Los Angeles Lakers.
According to reports, James will sign a two-year, $104 million contract, which includes a player option for 2025-26 and a no trade clause.
This structure presumably provides flexibility for the 39-year-old star to take things year-by-year when deciding how much longer he will play.
Today’s outcome has been expected all along. While the plan was always for James to opt out, it was obvious he was going to reup with the Lakers after the franchise hired his friend and podcast partner JJ Redick as head coach and drafted his son Bronny 55th overall last Thursday.
James is coming off a season in which he averaged 25.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 8.3 assists in 71 games while shooting a career-high 41% from three-point range.
He also was selected to his 20th straight All-Star Game and was named third-team All-NBA. The Lakers, meanwhile, went 47-35 in the regular season and lost to the Denver Nuggets in five games in the first round of the playoffs.
James has won one NBA championship and reached the Western Conference Finals twice in his first six seasons in Los Angeles. Next year, he’ll have the opportunity to suit up alongside his son while playing for his fourth different head coach in Tinseltown.
More to come…
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