{"id":3960,"date":"2026-06-30T18:39:15","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T18:39:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3960"},"modified":"2026-06-30T18:39:15","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T18:39:15","slug":"lebron-james-not-returning-to-lakers-plans-to-play-24th-season-elsewhere-ap-source-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3960","title":{"rendered":"LeBron James not returning to Lakers, plans to play 24th season elsewhere, AP source says"},"content":{"rendered":"<article>\n<div>\n<p><span>LeBron James will not be back with the Los Angeles Lakers and plans to play a record-extending 24th NBA season elsewhere, a person with knowledge of those plans confirmed Tuesday.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3959\">With NHL free agency officially opening Wednesday at noon, here are some intriguing possibilities for the Bruins<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because James had not revealed that decision publicly. ESPN, citing James\u2019 longtime agent and Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul, first reported James\u2019 plans.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>James can begin talking officially to new clubs after 6 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, when the league\u2019s free agent period opens. He will not be able to sign with a new team until the league\u2019s offseason moratorium is lifted on July 6.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><span>A slew of options will be available to James on the open market, including Golden State. Longtime Warriors forward Draymond Green did not exercise his $27.6 million option for this coming season earlier this week in large part to allow his team flexibility to make other roster moves.<\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div><span>Get Starting Point<\/span><\/div>\n<div><span>A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday.<\/span><\/div>\n<div>\n<div><label>Enter Email<\/label><\/p>\n<div><button>Sign Up<\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><span>\u201cPersonally, I\u2019m always willing to work with the team on whatever is best, especially at this point in my career,\u201d Green said on the latest episode of his podcast, which was released Tuesday. \u201cSo my decision to opt out was for a few reasons. As you all know, I\u2019ve always taken the approach of working with the organization. I\u2019ve been in one place for 14 years. It\u2019s more of a family to me than anything.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>It could be the move that convinces James to go to Golden State \u2014 a franchise he faced four times with Cleveland in the NBA Finals. He also has close relationships with Green, Stephen Curry and Warriors coach Steve Kerr.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3957\">Patriots kicker Andy Borregales assisting in earthquake relief efforts for home country of Venezuela: \u2018Anything helps\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span>James spent eight seasons with the Lakers, the longest he spent in one stint with one NBA team and led them to the 2020 NBA championship. He became the NBA\u2019s all-time points leader while wearing a Lakers uniform and surpassed a slew of other records while in purple and gold.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>He spent the first seven years of his career in Cleveland, then left for four years in Miami where he won the first two of his four championships. That was followed by another four-year stint with the Cavaliers, and in 2018 he joined the Lakers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>James is the NBA\u2019s oldest active player; he turns 42 in December. He was the first player in league history to log 23 seasons; he\u2019ll add at least one more to that this season. He also became the first player in the league to have a son as a teammate, with Bronny James playing alongside him with the Lakers.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>The list of James\u2019 accolades to this point are beyond comparison.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>He\u2019s a 22-time All-Star, a 21-time All-NBA selection, a four-time Most Valuable Player, a four-time NBA Finals MVP, a three-time All-Star Game MVP, and was part of the NBA\u2019s 75th anniversary team. He\u2019s coming off a season where he averaged 20.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 7.2 assists per game, and for his career, he\u2019s averaged 26.8 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 7.4 assists in more than 1,600 games.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/bostonrelocationinsider.com\/?p=3955\">How Toronto Tempo star Marina Mabrey was able to torch the Sparks for a WNBA-record-tying 53 points<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ESPN, citing James\u2019 longtime agent and Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul, first reported James\u2019 plans.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":166,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3960","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sport"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>LeBron James not returning to Lakers, plans to play 24th season elsewhere, AP source says - 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