LeBron James is about to embark on another NBA season, but the 2025-26 campaign is more than just an ordinary one for the future Basketball Hall of Famer. The Los Angeles Lakers star forward, despite just months away from turning 41 years old, is still active in the league and will play in a record-setting 23rd season.
The four-time NBA Most Valuable Player does not have much to prove on the court, but there’s still fire inside him. And after a season where he averaged 24.4 points, 8.2 assists and 7.8 rebounds through 70 games while shooting 51.3 percent from the field and posting a 57.1 effective field goal percentage, James, as everyone who saw him play in 2024-25, can attest that there’s still plenty in the tank left for the former No.1 overall pick at the 2003 NBA Draft.
As for his long-term outlook in the league, that’s a bigger question that hovers over him, especially since he doesn’t have a contract beyond the upcoming season. James exercised his $52.63 million player option with the Lakjers in the 2025-26 season.
Nevertheless, the fact that he’s on a contract year doesn’t seem to bother the 21-time NBA All-Star.
“It will have no impact,” James said of the absence of a new contract, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN. “I’m super excited about the challenges and the excitement of our team. We added some new guys. We got another year under our belt with our coaching staff from last year. Got a full year with Luka [Doncic] and another year with the guys that I’ve been with. So super excited about that.”
James is just happy that he’s still playing the game that has been so good for him in the best league in the world.
“And I’m not worried about contracts at this point in my career. That doesn’t bother me at all. Super humbled to even have it, have a contract still and be able to play the game that I love still at this part of my career and take full advantage of it.”
With Luka Doncic ready to take the reins as the Lakers’ face of the franchise in his first full season with the team, James will look to continue being a steady contributor, as he chases a fifth NBA ring while the window is still open.
Leave a Reply