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LeBron James will return for record 24th NBA season, just not with Lakers The King is coming back We just don't know where.
NBA icon LeBron James, the leagues all-time leading scorer, has reportedly agreed to return to the NBA, according to initial reporting from ESPN's Shams Charania.
This brings him back for the 2026-27 season, which will be his 24th and will extend his record for most seasons played in NBA history.
"LeBron James will continue his NBA career for the 2026-27 season and has informed the Los Angeles Lakers that the franchise can move on without him because he will play elsewhere, Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul tells ESPN," Charania wrote on X.
This comes in the wake of Los Angeles getting swept in the Western Conference semifinals against the Oklahoma City Thunder, a series in which the Lakers were missing star player and NBA leading scorer Luka Doncic.
James will become an unrestricted free agent after he played the final season of his contract in 2025-26, which was a player option.
James and his agent, Rich Paul, had acknowledged in June 2025 that the Lakers were building for the future a future that seemingly may not have included James.
The Lakers played extremely well down the stretch during the games when James, Doncic and Austin Reaves were healthy and available.
Los Angeles won 16 of the 18 games prior to April 2, which was the night Doncic suffered a hamstring injury that sidelined him for the remainder of the year.
The Lakers then lost three consecutive (including the game that Doncic left early), but James was instrumental in elevating the play of the Lakers, who also missed Reaves for extended stretches.
In particular, James, who turns 42 in December, was exceptional during the first-round series against the Rockets, a series Los Angeles won in six games.
Although he tied for the lowest scoring average of his career this season, James nonetheless scored 20.9 points per game, adding 7.2 assists and 6.1 rebounds, and shot 51.5% from the field, 31.7% on 3-pointers and 73.7% on free throws.
He made the All-Star team for a league-record 22nd consecutive time.
A 22-time All-Star and four-time Most Valuable Player, James is also a four-time NBA champion with four NBA Finals Most Valuable Player trophies along the way.
Hes a member of the NBA 75th Anniversary Team and had stops with the Cavaliers (twice), the Miami Heat and the Lakers.
He won at least one NBA championship with each squad.
James is also a three-time Olympic gold medalist (2008, 2012, 2024) and won bronze in 2004.
On Tuesday, October 22, 2024, after the Lakers drafted his eldest son, Bronny, the pair also became the first father-son duo to appear in a regular season game together, in a 110-103 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves.
James already holds several NBA all-time records, including points scored (43,440), field goal attempts (31,502), minutes played (61,030) and he also holds the all-time record for nearly every major individual playoff statistic.
It remains to be seen where his next chapter will unfold.