LeBron James is continuing his record-setting NBA career, but he won’t do it with the Lakers.
The 41-year-old superstar informed the Lakers he felt it was best to part ways, The Times confirmed. James, who will extend his own NBA record for seasons played to 24, is pursuing a contract with another NBA team, according to people familiar with the situation not authorized to discuss it publicly.
James averaged 20.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game last season for the Lakers while claiming a slew of NBA records, including marks for games played, all-time wins and field goals made. After eight seasons with the Lakers, he became an unrestricted free agent and flirted with retirement. Despite his age, he was still considered one of the top free agents in a relatively pedestrian class.
James earned his record 22nd All-Star appearance last season, maintained his streak of averaging more than 20 points per game every season of his career and willed a shorthanded Lakers team past the Houston Rockets in the first round of the playoffs last season.
But he also gave up ground in his decades-long bout with Father Time.
James missed the first 14 games of the season while dealing with a right sciatic nerve issue, marking the first time in his career that he wasn’t ready to suit up for the season opener. His 15.3 field goal attempts per game was a career low, and he was ineligible for end-of-season awards because he missed 22 regular-season games, ending his streak of 21 years with All-NBA honors.
The Lakers needed James to reach the second round of the Western Conference playoffs last season — when the team was without star Luka Doncic for the entire postseason — but the NBA’s all-time leading scorer was set to take a supporting role within the franchise.
Doncic, 27, remains the top priority for the Lakers. Doncic signed a three-year, $165-million contract extension last summer. The Lakers also wanted to keep 28-year-old Austin Reaves, who declined a player option to position himself for a well-deserved raise during a critical summer for the Lakers.
With eight players from last year’s roster entering unrestricted free agency or holding player options, the Lakers were in position to completely remake their roster around Doncic two offseasons after the Slovenian superstar landed in the Lakers’ laps in a mind-blowing trade.
President of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka said after the season that the roster would be “retrofitted” around Doncic, meaning the Lakers wanted to target athletic, defensive-minded wings, knock-down shooters and a rim-running center.
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