Los Angeles Lakers sign LeBron James to two-year, $97.1 million contract extension

LeBron James is signing a two-year extension with the Los Angeles Lakers, agreeing to a $97.1 million contract that will make him the highest-paid NBA player ever.

The 37-year-old forward entered the final year of his original two-year $85.6 million contract he signed with Los Angeles two years ago. On a franchise with some uncertainty, there was some speculation on whether or not James would remain in a Lakers’ uniform long-term.

LeBron James contract: $44.474 million salary (2022-’23, $97.1 million total (2023-’24)

Ultimately, the two sides found a resolution. Just a few weeks after he became eligible to sign a contract extension, the future Hall of Famer is now signing on the dotted line with Los Angeles.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, James’ new contract with the Lakers includes a 15% trade and makes him the highest-earning player in NBA history. The total value of the deal can increase to $111 million over two years if the 2023′-24 NBA salary cap spikes.

LeBron James stats (2021-’22 season): 30.3 PPG, 8.2 RPG, 6.2 APG

James has previously expressed interest in finishing his NBA career as a teammate of his son, Bronny James. However, the top high school basketball recruit isn’t eligible to be selected until the 2024 NBA Draft.

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A four-time NBA champion and NBA Finals MVP, James earned his 18th All-Star selection this past year and was named to the All-NBA Team for the 18th time in his iconic career. With this new deal, he will tentatively remain on the Lakers’ roster through his age-39 season.

James is not eligible to be traded during the 2022-’23 NBA season, per ESPN, due to NBA rules with the second year of his extension exceeding a 5% raise. While he would be eligible to be dealt next summer, that would come with a 15% trade kicker for any team that acquires him

Notably, the Lakers do not own a first-round pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. If the franchise wanted to pick Bronny, allowing LeBron James to finish his career in Los Angeles, the son of an all-time great would either need to fall into Round 2 or the Lakers would need to move up into Round 1 to acquire him.

LeBron James career stats: 37,062 points, 10,210 rebounds, 10,045 assists, 2,136 steals

Heading into the 2022-’23 NBA season James is 1,326 points away from surpassing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387 points) as the all-time NBA scoring leader. He is also set to pass Lakers’ icon Magic Johnson (10,141) for sixth place on the all-time NBA assists leaderboard. Both milestones will be accomplished this year and it’s widely expected that both games will be nationally televised on ESPN or TNT.