‘I grew up watching LeBron’: Lakers superstar Karl-Anthony Towns enters 23rd season
Prince J. Grimes talks with Karl-Anthony Towns about his awe of what LeBron James has been able to accomplish over the past 22 seasons.
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The king is coming back — we don’t know where.
NBA icon LeBron James, the league’s all-time leading scorer, has agreed to return to the NBA, but not to the Lakers, said a person familiar with the situation who was not authorized to speak publicly.Cold. This will allow him to return for the 2026-27 season, which will be his 24th season and set him as the NBA’s all-time leader for most appearances in a season.
This comes after Los Angeles was swept in the Western Conference semifinals against the Oklahoma City Thunder, a series in which the Lakers were without star player and leading NBA scorer Luka Doncic.
James will become an unrestricted free agent after playing the final season of his contract in 2025-26, which was a player option. James and his agent Rich Paul acknowledged in June 2025 that the Lakers were building for a future, but that future didn’t seem to include James.
The Lakers played very well down the stretch with James, Doncic and Austin Reeves healthy and available. Los Angeles had won 16 of 18 games through April 2, the night Doncic suffered a hamstring injury that sidelined him for the rest of the year. The Lakers then lost three straight (including one in which Doncic left early), but James helped improve the Lakers’ play, and the Lakers also missed an extended period of time without Reeves.
In particular, James, who turns 42 in December, was exceptional in the first round series against the Rockets, which Los Angeles won in six games.
This season, James tied for the lowest points of his career, averaging 20.9 points, 7.2 assists, and 6.1 rebounds per game while shooting 51.5 percent from the field, 31.7 percent from 3-point range, and 73.7 percent from free throws. He was selected to the All-Star team for a league-record 22 consecutive times.
A 22-time All-Star and four-time Most Valuable Player, James is also a four-time NBA champion and has won four NBA Finals Most Valuable Player trophies. He is a member of the NBA 75th Anniversary Team and has played for the Cavaliers (twice), Miami Heat, and Lakers. He won at least one NBA championship with each team.
James is also a three-time Olympic gold medalist (2008, 2012, 2024) and won a bronze medal in 2004.
On Tuesday, October 22, 2024, the pair became the first father-son duo to appear in a regular season game together in a 110-103 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves after the Lakers drafted their oldest son, Bronny.
James already holds several all-time NBA records, including points (43,440), field goal attempts (31,502) and minutes played (61,030), and he also holds the all-time record for nearly every major playoff individual statistic.
It remains to be seen how his next chapter will unfold.
LeBron James’ next decision is here, and it could change the NBA landscape once again. Ahead of the start of the league’s free agency period, multiple reports reported on Tuesday, June 30, that the league’s all-time leading scorer has informed the Los Angeles Lakers that he plans to play elsewhere during the 2026-27 season.
Mark Jeannot of USA TODAY Sports lists five spots where LeBron James could land.
