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.
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.
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