Despite a whirlwind of offseason rumors, LeBron James is anticipated to stay with the Los Angeles Lakers for the 2025-26 season, The Athletic reported Wednesday.
According to the report, the Lakers haven’t mentioned a commerce or buyout with James, and there’s no indication the NBA’s all-time main scorer is trying to go away. He is anticipated to report back to coaching camp this fall.
James, 40, exercised his $52.6 million participant choice final month, locking in his eighth season in purple and gold.
He will return to a crew the place, for the primary time in his profession, he’s anticipated to function the second choice. Luka Doncic, acquired in a blockbuster commerce from the Dallas Mavericks in February, is projected to be the centerpiece for Los Angeles this season.
Fueling the commerce or buyout hypothesis was a press release made final month by James’ longtime agent, Rich Paul, who mentioned, “We do want to evaluate what’s best for LeBron at this stage in his life and career.”
Trading James can be troublesome resulting from his wage, as NBA trades should embrace contracts of comparable worth below the league’s wage cap guidelines.
The Lakers, in keeping with The Athletic, are additionally hesitant to accumulate a participant incomes round $50 million yearly if he has further years remaining on his contract. James’ $52.6 million deal expires on the finish of the upcoming season.
James is coming into his record-setting twenty third NBA season. He has performed in 1,562 regular-season video games and is 50 appearances shy of breaking Hall of Famer Robert Parish’s NBA report.
In 70 video games throughout the 2024-25 season, James averaged 24.4 factors, 7.8 rebounds and eight.2 assists – rating within the prime 22 in every class.
A 21-time All-Star, four-time MVP and four-time NBA champion, James has scored a report 42,184 regular-season factors and 50,473 mixed factors within the common season and playoffs.
He entered the NBA as an 18-year-old after being chosen No. 1 general by the Cleveland Cavaliers within the 2003 NBA Draft. He turns 41 in December.
Source: www.dailysabah.com