LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers agreed to a two-year, $104 million contract extension that includes a player option for 2025-26 and a no-trade clause.
Sources told ESPN, The Athletic and CBS Sports about the pact Wednesday morning. The agreement was reached just days after the Lakers selected Bronny James, LeBron’s James’ eldest son, in the second round of the 2024 NBA Draft.
The LeBron James averaged 25.7 points, 8.3 assists and 7.3 rebounds over 71 starts during the 2023-24 campaign, his 21st season in the NBA. He played on a $44.4 million salary last season and declined a $51.4 million player option this off-season.
LeBron James, 39, became the league’s all-time points leader in 2023. His 27.1 career points per game are the seventh-most in league history. He ranks fourth all-time in assists, eighth in steals and 31st in rebounds.
The Lakers were 47-35 in 2023-24, reaching their highest win total since 2019-20, when they were 52-19 and won the NBA Finals.
Anthony Davis, D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura are among the players who could join James in the Lakers starting lineup in 2024-25.
NBA teams can start signing free agents on Saturday, which also marks the first day of California Classic Summer League play. The Lakers will face the Sacramento Kings at 4:30 p.m. EDT Saturday at Chase Center in San Francisco. (UPI)
