It feels like it was just yesterday that we were talking about how LeBron James signing his latest extension with the Lakers in 2020 brought him a bit closer to playing with Bronny James in the near future.
Fast forward a few years and it almost was just yesterday that we were talking about James possibly forcing his way out of LA if they weren’t competitive.
We can put those rumors to bed, though. LeBron James will be a Los Angeles Laker for the foreseeable future — at least, until his son makes it to the NBA.
James signed a two-year, $97.1 million extension with the Lakers on Wednesday, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
BREAKING: Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James has agreed on a two-year, $97.1 million contract extension – including a player option for the 2024-2025 season, @KlutchSports CEO Rich Paul tells ESPN. James had been entering final year of deal worth $44.5M.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 17, 2022
The deal comes with a 15% trade kicker and can potentially rise up to $111 million if the salary cap spikes in the 2024-25 season.
Nobody really expected James to sign this extension at this point. Lakers fans (and the team, obviously) are elated that he’s staying. And it makes a ton of sense why he would when you really boil it down.
Let’s dive into it.
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1
He's now the richest NBA player ever
Let’s keep it a buck — LeBron James had $97.1 million reasons to sign that deal and that’s exactly why he did it.
It was the money, y’all. No, James doesn’t necessarily need money. He’s already a billionaire, according to Forbes, and is almost certain to keep printing money off the court.
But, listen. He just made half a billion dollars on the basketball court. I can’t imagine him passing that up. He’s quite literally the richest NBA player ever, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks.
James is now the highest paid player in league history with $532M on court earnings.
Kevin Durant at $508M previously held that mark. https://t.co/xrW4ES2XUQ
— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) August 17, 2022
2
HE'S 38!!! (Or, he will be soon, anyway)
Look, I know. I get it. LeBron James is great. He still plays basketball like he’s in his prime.
But this dude is going to be 38 years old in December. His playing days are closer to being over than just starting. He doesn’t have this many big deals left in him. When you get this sort of money, you take it. Especially at his age.
The NBA has an “over-38” rule that doesn’t allow players over 38 years old to sign five year deals from fear they may retire before the deal is actually up. It was previously the “over-36” rule, but James and Chris Paul fought to bump the age up.
Regardless, there’s no long-term security out there for him anymore. This was the best deal he was getting.
3
The Lakers can commit to making moves now
This is the big one. The Lakers have been hesitant to make any moves to improve their team because they didn’t have a commitment from James.
They’ve had deals on the table where, if they move their draft picks from 2027 and 2029, they’d be able to improve their roster significantly with players like Kyrie Irving or Buddy Hield and Myles Turner. But they wouldn’t sacrifice their future with no security.
Now, they’ve got that security. So we should be seeing them making moves sooner rather than later.
4
LeBron still keeps his flexibility
Don’t get it twisted — this deal doesn’t mean James is a Laker for the rest of his career. Of course, he can be. But it’s not set in stone.
James has a player option in year two of his extension. It’s essentially the same sort of 1+1 deal James signed when he played for the Cavaliers. It’s a play for leverage and puts the Lakers right back in this situation they were in this summer next year with James’ future in the balance.
The ball is still in his court. That’s got big implications for something further down this list. More in a sec.
5
Anthony Davis is still in his prime
The Lakers traded for Anthony Davis intending on him to be the one to carry the torch once LeBron is ready to hand it off.
We haven’t quite gotten to that point yet. Davis hasn’t been the clear-cut best player on these Lakers just yet. But he is 29 years old and, if he wasn’t the best player during their 2020 championship run, he was certainly close to that.
James has a running mate who might still be good enough to carry the torch. That’s very important and was probably a big reason why he stayed. Davis and James are the only two Lakers under contract through 2025.
Including the player option, LeBron James and Anthony Davis are now under contract on the same timeline through 2025. https://t.co/1vCuKuRqCu
— Evan Sidery (@esidery) August 17, 2022
This is their team.
6
He doesn't have to uproot his family
It’s pretty clear LeBron James loves his life in LA. He can do his basketball stuff with his media stuff and still watch his kids play basketball and grow up together all in the same space.
This tweet from last week with him gushing about Bronny James and Bryce James playing together says it all.
BRONNY ✘ BRYCE IS FINALLY HERE 🔥
(📸: @BrianPBosche) pic.twitter.com/8Rue735OIW
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) August 11, 2022
No way LeBron was giving this up.
7
Speaking of Bronny...
LeBron is now in perfect position to go wherever his son goes, should he actually play in the NBA.
There’s no guarantee he makes it — the NBA is vast pool of talent and being related to one of the greats doesn’t earn you a roster spot. But Bronny is good. And if he keeps improving he could get there.
If he does, it’d be in the summer of 2024. That’s when he’d be draft eligible. That’s also the same year James can opt out of his deal and enter free agency.
We know James wants to play with his son. He told us in January.
“I want him to get to the NBA. I’m not even gonna lie. I want to be on the court with him. I think that would an unbelievable moment.”
The groundwork has been laid. We’ll see how everything unfolds, but as of now this is definitely on track to happen — either in LA or elsewhere.
