LeBron James closes a historic chapter with the Lakers

LeBron James reportedly won’t return to the Lakers for his 24th season.

The Los Angeles Lakers’ chapter of LeBron James’ storied NBA career is over. Not only is the next chapter unknown – his next team will be revealed soon enough – but the next chapter for the 41-year-old all-time great may very well be his last.

James informed the Lakers that he plans to play elsewhere next season, bringing an end to his eight-year run with the franchise.

“LeBron James is one of the greatest athletes in history,” longtime Lakers owner and governor Jeanie Buss said in a statement. “We will always be thankful for his eight years with the Lakers – including the title he led us to in 2020 under the toughest imaginable circumstances and the countless records he broke in purple and gold. We wish him all the best in the future, both on the court and off. He will always be a cherished part of the Lakers family.”

On X, the Lakers thanked James, and he responded: “No, THANK YOU! Truly an honor to wear (purple and gold) while trying to continuing the greatness and legacies that came before me! Hope I made a few proud during my stint!”

No, THANK YOU! Truly a honor to wear the 💜💛 while trying to continuing the greatness & legacies that came before me! Hope I made a few proud during my stint. 🙏🏾🫡👑 https://t.co/RmQ6uvvgv0

— LeBron James (@KingJames) June 30, 2026

Though he spent 11 seasons in total with the Cleveland Cavaliers – split between his first seven pro seasons and a four-year stint later after playing four seasons with the Miami Heat – James’ eight years with the Lakers were the longest continuous stretch he had with a team.

On July 1, 2018, Klutch Sports Group – the agency that represents James – sent a simple social media post: “LeBron James, four time NBA MVP, three time NBA Finals MVP, fourteen time All-Star, and two time Olympic gold medalist, has agreed to four year, $154 million contract the Los Angeles Lakers.”

To each of those accomplishments except regular-season MVP, James added at least one more number (and a few more dollars) in L.A. Yes, James enjoyed playing in Los Angeles for the Lakers, but this was not a one-sided relationship. The Lakers prospered, too.

While James was coming off eight consecutive Finals appearances in 2018 – four with Miami and four with Cleveland – the Lakers were struggling to rediscover the franchise’s championship pedigree. At that time, the Lakers had missed the playoffs in five consecutive seasons and won just 17 games in 2015-16.

James turned that around but not immediately. It took other moves, such as acquiring Anthony Davis. The NBA suspended the 2019-20 season in March due to COVID-19 and developed a plan to resume and finish the season inside a “bubble” on a Disney property just outside of Orlando.

In a difficult situation in which the Lakers spent nearly three months in a restricted but protected environment, James led the Lakers to their 17th NBA championship. He averaged 29.8 points, 11.8 rebounds, 8.5 assists and 1.2 steals and shot 59.1% from the field and 41.7% on 3-pointers.

It was James’ fourth NBA championship and fourth Finals MVP.

“You wouldn’t be human if you didn’t have ups and downs in the bubble,” James said that night.

“At times I was questioning myself. Should I be here? Is this worth sacrificing my family? So many things. I’ve never been without my family this long. … I heard some rumblings from people that are not in the bubble, ‘Oh, you don’t have to travel.’ Whatever. People just doubting what goes on in here. This is right up there with one of the greatest accomplishments I’ve had.”

The Lakers and James have not won a title since, but they had success, including three seasons with at least 50 victories. They reached the Western Conference Finals in 2023, and James extended his All-Star selections to 22 and his All-NBA honors to 21 – both are NBA records. Eight of those All-Star choices and seven of those All-NBA choices were with the Lakers.

Also with the Lakers, he passed Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Karl Malone and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the NBA’s all-time scoring list and is No. 1 with 43,440 points, the only player with more than 40,000.

He also moved up the all-time assist list, passing, among others, Lakers great Magic Johnson, and is now fourth all-time with 12,016 assists. He is expected to pass Jason Kidd (12,091) for No. 3 in 2026-27 and has a chance to pass Chris Paul (12,552) for the No. 2 spot.

James extended his streak of scoring at least 10 points to 1,297 games – 431 more than second-place Michael Jordan and 969 more than the next active player on the list (Kevin Durant, 328).

Because of his remarkable longevity, durability and consistency, these lists in which he ranks at the top are numerous.

And the Lakers were an important part of that journey as James plots what the rest of his NBA career looks like. The book remains unfinished, the last chapter unwritten for the future Hall of Famer.

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Jeff Zillgitt has covered the NBA since 2008. You can email him at jzillgitt@nba.com, find his archive here and follow him on X.