Last month, Los Angeles Lakers star forward LeBron James’ agent Rich Paul issued a statement regarding his client that caught a lot of people’s attention. Paul made it clear that James would like to compete for a title at this stage of his pro career, explaining that the 21-time All-Star values a “realistic chance of winning it all.”
Ever since Paul came out with those comments, there has been much speculation about James’ future with the Lakers organization, even though the veteran opted into his deal for the 2025-26 season.
Amid the uncertainty, it’s worth noting that James’ camp reportedly did the courtesy of contacting the Lakers franchise along with star guard Luka Doncic’s camp before Paul dropped the bomb of a statement.
“Before he released the statement, Paul gave a heads-up to Doncic and the Lakers,” ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne and Brian Windhorst wrote.
“Paul called [Lara Beth] Seager, with whom he has a relationship, and wanted to extend an olive branch, sources said. He wanted to make it clear James has always appreciated Doncic’s admiration for him and knows that Doncic understands the business of the league. That this wasn’t a reflection on how James felt about their experience playing together. And Paul suggested that if James eventually made any further moves, he would communicate them.
“James understood the Lakers taking advantage of an opportunity to pivot to the younger superstar. But from James’ perspective, sources said, nuance was sometimes lost during the transition. Doncic had never asked to be a Laker. James, for his part, had chosen L.A., coming in 2018 when the team had missed the playoffs five consecutive seasons, the worst run for the franchise since it moved from Minneapolis. Two years later, James had helped deliver a 17th championship.
“Paul also had to formally inform the Lakers that James intended to pick up the final year of his contract after the team did not engage in any substantial discussions about extending him by a year or two, sources said, as they had twice previously during James’ Lakers’ tenure. It was then that he let the organization know about the coming statement.”
An anonymous NBA executive claimed recently that while he thinks it’s unlikely that James gets traded to another team, the fact that there’s been no official announcement from the Lakers that James exercised his $52.6 million player option for the 2025-26 campaign is “very strange.”
Paul’s statement indicates that James is still hoping to add to his collection of championship rings before he decides to call it quits on his pro career. James already has four rings under his belt and has won at least one title with three different teams: the Lakers, Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat. Most recently, he won a championship with the Lakers back in 2020.
James might be fed up with falling short of a championship year after year in a Lakers uniform. Ever since he reached the NBA’s mountaintop with the team in 2020, Los Angeles hasn’t even appeared in an NBA Finals and has made just one appearance in the Western Conference Finals.
The 40-year-old is accustomed to winning at a high level, as he reached eight straight NBA Finals earlier on in his pro career across stints with the Heat and Cavaliers.
James needs to add some championships to his collection if he wants to catch up to some other all-time greats in that metric. For example, Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan won six championships during his playing days, and Lakers legend Kobe Bryant took home five.