June 29, 2025 | Los Angeles, CA
No. 23 is officially returning for a 23rd season.
LeBron James, the NBA’s all-time leading scorer and a four-time league MVP, is exercising his $52.6 million player option to remain with the Los Angeles Lakers for the 2025–26 season, his agent Rich Paul confirmed to ESPN on Saturday — the same day James faced the deadline to opt in.
The decision means the 40-year-old icon will extend his remarkable career into another year, continuing his pursuit of history and a potential second championship in the purple and gold.
James, who entered the NBA in 2003 as the top overall pick out of St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in Akron, Ohio, has spent 11 seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers, four with the Miami Heat, and the last seven with the Lakers. A 21-time All-Star, four-time Finals MVP, and four-time NBA champion, James has nothing left to prove — yet continues to rewrite the record books.
Next season, James will surpass Vince Carter for the most seasons played in NBA history and is just 50 games away from breaking Robert Parish’s all-time record for most career regular-season games.
Off the court, James recently sparked speculation about retirement during a dinner outing in New York, where he was overheard joking that his wife, Savannah, “wants me to f—ing retire in the next year or so.” Still, the move to opt in signals that James is not ready to hang up his sneakers just yet.
It remains unclear how much longer James will suit up for the Lakers. While he reaffirmed his loyalty to the franchise earlier this year after rebuffing trade interest from the Golden State Warriors, his long-term future remains fluid.
“I am a Laker, and I’m happy and been very happy being a Laker the last six years and hopefully it stays that way,” James told reporters in February.
In a move that fueled excitement around James’ legacy and family ties, the Lakers selected his eldest son, Bronny James, with the 55th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. Weeks later, LeBron inked a two-year, $104 million extension to set the stage for the league’s first father-son tandem.
As LeBron enters Year 23, fans can expect another chapter in an already legendary career — one that shows no signs of slowing down just yet.
Stay tuned for more NBA offseason updates, player moves, and historical milestones as the 2025–26 season approaches.
