LeBron James faces a pivotal decision this offseason as he weighs whether to exercise his $52.6 million player option for the 2025-26 NBA season with the Los Angeles Lakers. Declining the option would make the league’s all-time leading scorer an unrestricted free agent this summer.
At 40 years old, James is the NBA’s oldest active player, yet he continues to perform at an elite level. He averaged 24.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 8.2 assists during the regular season and elevated his game in the postseason, posting 25.4 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 5.6 assists in the Lakers’ first-round playoff series against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
That playoff run, however, ended abruptly. Despite high expectations following the midseason addition of Luka Dončić from the Dallas Mavericks, the Lakers were eliminated in five games by the surging Timberwolves, cutting short a campaign that once carried championship aspirations.
James joined the Lakers in 2018 after a second stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers. In his six seasons with Los Angeles, the franchise has experienced mixed results: missing the playoffs twice, falling in the first round twice, reaching the Western Conference Finals once, and capturing a championship in the 2020 NBA Bubble.
LeBron James May Be Untradable For The Los Angeles Lakers
Some voices around the league have suggested that James consider leaving Los Angeles, especially with only one title to show for his time there. But according to NBA insider Marc Stein, a departure doesn’t seem likely.
“He’s not going to be easy to trade at $52 million,” Stein said on the ALL NBA podcast. “I don’t see him leaving $52 million on the table and just taking a much lower salary to go to the team of his choice. It’s too early in the game really to give you a clear-cut answer on it, but I would say at this point, it is more likely than not that Luka and LeBron will be back together as Lakers next season.”
James—who turns 41 in December—is a four-time NBA champion, four-time league MVP, and four-time Finals MVP. He’s played for the Cavaliers, Miami Heat, and Lakers during a legendary career that has spanned more than two decades.
Whether he stays in Los Angeles or not, James’ next move could mark one of the final chapters of a career unlike any other in NBA history.