Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James is apparently opting to exercise his $52.6 million player option for the 2025-26 NBA season, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania. But, there’s some talk around the NBA circles that James may want to wrap up his NBA career somewhere else.
James’ agent and longtime friend Rich Paul gave Charania a statement that has the NBA up in arms, explaining, “LeBron wants to compete for a championship” and that “he knows the Lakers are building for the future.” The statement adds that James “understands that, but he values a realistic chance of winning it all. We are very appreciative of the partnership that we’ve had for eight years with Jeanie [Buss] and Rob [Pelinka] and consider the Lakers as a critical part of his career.”
The Idea That LeBron James Would Leave the Lakers
Pal’s statement concludes stating, “We understand the difficulty in winning now while preparing for the future. We do want to evaluate what’s best for LeBron at this stage in his life and career. He wants to make every season he has left count, and the Lakers understand that, are supportive and want what’s best for him.”
So, would James really leave the Lakers? While the idea could make sense on some levels, there are certainly reasons why it doesn’t seem inevitable at all.
Lior Lampert of FanSided asks that question in a Sunday, June 29, feature. He reads the statement from Paul as “an attempt to dial up the pressure on L.A.’s front office ahead of free agency,’ which makes sense.
“If forced to bet yay or nay, we’d comfortably pick no, and James ultimately retires in purple and gold,” Lambert adds in the piece.
The Case for LeBron James to Stay
So, why would James stay? Lambert points out that James picked the Lakers back in 2018, and it’s the team he wanted. “He didn’t shy away from the fact that deciding to join them was done with his family in mind,” Lambert adds. “The 40-year-old has multiple homes and a myriad of business endeavors in L.A. Things other than basketball factored into the move, which are still prevalent now.”
Then, the real reason James, of course, could want to stay is because of his son, Bronny, who is on the Lakers’ team. “The four-time champion presumably worked relentlessly behind the scenes to make this happen, considering his eldest child wasn’t expected to get drafted,” Lambert says. “Would LeBron jeopardize his namesake’s path to the Association for one last dance?”
So, in the end, it really seems like it would make the most sense for James to stay with the Lakers. If he did jet, there’s a chance he could work out a trade to take Bronny with him. That would be wild. He certainly wants to share the court with Bronny more, and it does seem to make the most sense for him to do that with the Lakers. Plus, any other franchise he would skip to would likely not be as high-profile as Los Angeles, which is also a factor. Reach out to me with your thoughts.
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