The King will remain in L.A. and don the purple and gold for at least one more season.
ESPN’s Shams Charania was among the first to break the news on Sunday morning that LeBron James is opting into the $52.6 million player option on his contract for the upcoming season.
James’ agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, told Charania and ESPN that LeBron “knows the Lakers are building for the future…but he values a realistic chance of winning it all.”
At 40 years old, LeBron is defying the laws of aging by playing at an All-Star level in his 22nd season. Now, Lakers fans (and the greater LeBron fan community) get to experience a full year of the Luka Dončić-LeBron partnership that began when the Slovenian superstar was traded from the Dallas Mavericks in February.
Additionally, by LeBron accepting his player option, he gets to play another year in the NBA with his son Bronny. Speculation is that the eldest James may wait until his second son, Bryce, makes it to the league; however, that has not been confirmed by the 21-time All-Star himself.
Bryce, 18, committed to play basketball at the University of Arizona earlier this year. He is eligible for the next year’s NBA Draft should he decide to only spend a year in college.
